The winter winds raged outside, but within the caverns of the mountain dwarves beneath the Kharolis Mountains, the fury of the storm was not felt. As the Thane called for silence among the assembled dwarves and humans, a dwarven bard stepped forward to do homage to the companions.

 

SONG OF THE NINE HEROES

 

From the north came danger, as we knew it would:

In the vanguard of winter, a dragon's dance

Unraveled the land, until out of the forest,

Out of the plains they came, from the mothering earth,

The sky unreckoned before them.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

One from a garden of stone arising,

From dwarf-halls, from weather and wisdom,

Where the heart and mind tide unquestioned

In the untapped vein of the hand.

In his fathering arms, the spirit gathered.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined,they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

One from a haven of breezes descending,

Light in the handling air

To the waving meadows, the kender's country,

Where the grain out of smallness arises itself

To grow green and golden and green again.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

The next from the plains, the long land's keeping,

Nurtured in distance, horizons of nothing.

Bearing a staff she came, and a burden

Of mercy and light converged in her hand:

Beating the wounds of the world, she came.

 

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

The next from the plains, in the moon's shadow,

Through custom, through ritual, trailing the moon

Where her phases, her wax and her wane, controlled

The tide of his blood, and his warrior's hand

Ascended through hierarchies of space into light.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

One within absences, known by departures,

The dark swordswoman at the heart of fire:

Her glories the space between words,

The cradlesong recollected in age,

Recalled at the edge of awakening and thought.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

One in the heart of honor, formed by the sword,

By the centuries' flight of the kingfisher over the land,

By Solamnia ruined and risen, rising again

When the heart ascends into duty.

As it dances, the sword is forever an heirloom.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

The next in a simple light a brother to darkness,

Letting the sword hand try all subtleties,

Even the intricate webs of the heart. His thoughts

Are pools disrupted in changing wind

He cannot see their bottom.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

The next the leader, half-elvcn, betrayed

As the twining blood pulls asunder the land,

The forests, the worlds of elves and men.

Called into bravery, but fearing for love,

And fearing that, called into both, he does nothing.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

The last from the darkness, breathing the night

Where the abstract stars hide a nest of words,

Where the body endures the wound of numbers,

Surrendered to knowledge, until, unable to bless,

His blessing falls on the low, the benighted.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

Joined by others they were in the telling:

A graceless girl, graced beyond graces;

A princess of seeds and saplings, called to the forest;

An ancient weaver of accidents;

Nor can we say who the story will gather.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the hear of the story.

 

From the north came danger, as we knew it would:

In encampments of winter, the dragon's sleep

Has settled the land, but out of the forest,

Out of the plain they come, from the mothering earth,

Defining the sky before them.

Nine they were, under the three moons,

Under the autumn twilight:

As the world declined, they arose

Into the heart of the story.

 

 

 

The Hammer

 

"The Hammer of Kharas!"

The great Hall of Audience of the King of the Mountain Dwarves echoed with the triumphal announcement. It was followed by wild cheering, the deep booming voices of the dwarves mingling with the slightly higher-pitched shouts of the humans as the huge doors at the rear of the Hall were thrown open and Elistan, cleric of Paladine, entered.

 

Although the bowl-shaped Hall was large, even by dwarven standards, it was crammed to capacity. Nearly all of the eight hundred refugees from Pax Tharkas lined the walls, while the dwarves packed onto the carved stone benches below.

 

Elistan appeared at the foot of a long central aisle, the giant war hammer held reverently in his hands. The shouts increased at the sight of the cleric of Paladine in his white robes, the sound booming against the great vault of the ceiling and reverberating through the hall until it seemed that the ground shook with the vibrations.

 

Tanis winced as the noise made his head throb. He was stifled in the crowd. He didn't like being underground anyway and, although the ceiling was so high that the top soared beyond the blazing torchlight and disappeared into shadow, the half-elf felt enclosed, trapped.

 

"I'll be glad when this is over;" he muttered to Sturm, standing next to him.

 

Sturm, always melancholy, seemed even darker and more brooding than usual. "I don't approve of this, Tanis," he muttered, folding his arms across the bright metal of his antique breastplate.

 

"I know;" said Tanis irritably. "You've said it-not once, but several times. It's too late now. There's nothing to be done but make the best of it:"

 

The end of his sentence was lost in another resounding cheer as Elistan raised the Hammer above his head, showing it to the crowd before beginning the walk down the aisle. Tanis put his hand on his forehead. He was growing dizzy as the cool underground cavern heated up from the mass of bodies.

 

Elistan started to walk down the aisle. Rising to greet him on a dais in the center of the Hall was Hornfel, Thane of the Hylar dwarves. Spaced behind the dwarf were seven carved stone thrones, all of them now empty. Hornfel stood before the seventh throne-the most magnificent, the throne for the King of Thorbardin. Lang empty, it would be occupied once more, as Hornfel accepted the Hammer of Kharas. The return of this ancient relic was a singular triumph for Hornfel. Since his thanedom was now in possession of the coveted Hammer, he could unite the rival dwarven thanes under his leadership.

 

" We fought to recover that Hammer;' Sturm said slowly, his eyes upon the gleaming weapon. "The legendary Hammer of Kharas. Used to forge the dragonlances. Lost for hundreds of years, found again, and lost once more. And now given to the dwarvesl" he said in disgust.

 

"It was given to the dwarves once before;' Tanis reminded him wearily, feeling sweat trickle down his forehead. "Have Flint tell you the tale, if you've forgotten. At any rate, it is truly theirs now."

 

Elistan had arrived at the foot of the stone dais where the Thane, dressed in the heavy robes and massive gold chains dwarves loved, awaited him. Elistan knelt at the foot of the dais, a politic gesture, for otherwise the tall, muscular cleric would stand face-to-face with the dwarf, despite the fact that the dais was a good three feet off the ground. The dwarves cheered mightily at this. The humans were, Tanis noticed, more subdued, some muttering among themselves, not liking the sight of their leader abasing himself:.

 

"Accept this gift of our people-" Elistan's words were lost in another cheer from the dwarves.

 

"Gift!" Sturm snorted. "Ransom is nearer the mark."

 

"In return for which;" Elistan continued when he could be heard, "we thank the dwarves for their generous gift of a place to live within their kingdom:'

 

"For the right to be sealed in a tomb . . :' Sturm muttered.

 

"And we pledge our support to the dwarves if the war should come upon us!" Elistan shouted.

 

Cheering resounded throughout the chamber, increasing as Thane Hornfel bent to receive the Hammer.. The dwarves stamped and whistled, most climbing up on the stone benches.

Tanis began to feel nauseated. He glanced around. They would never be missed. Hornfel would speak; so would each of the other six Thanes, not to mention the members of the Highseekers Council. The half-elf touched Sturm on the arm, motioning to the knight to follow him. The two walked silently from the Hall, bending low to get through a narrow archway. Although still underground in the massive dwarven city, at least they were away from the noise, out in the cool night air.

 

"Are you all right?" Sturm asked, noticing Tanis's pallor beneath his beard. The half-elf gulped draughts of cool air.

 

"I am now;" Tanis said, flushing in shame at his weakness. "It was the heat . . . and the noise:"

 

"Well, we'll be out of here soon;' Sturm said. 'Depending, of course, on whether or not the Council of Highseekers votes to let us go to Tarsis:'

 

"Oh, there's no doubt how they'll vote;" Tanis said, shrugging. "Elistan is clearly in control, now that he's led the people to a place of safety. None of the Highseekers dares oppose him-at least to his face. No, my friend, within a month's time perhaps, we'll be setting sail in one of the white-winged ships of Tarsis the Beautiful:'

 

"Without the Hammer of Kharas," Sturm added bitterly. Softly, he began to quote. " 'And so if was told that the Knights took the golden Hammer, the Hammer blessed 6y the great god Paladine and given to the One of the Silver Arm so that he might forge the Dragonlance of Huma, Dragonbane, and gave the Hammer to the dwarf they called Kharas, or Knight, for his extraordinary valor and honor in battle. And he kept Kharas for his name. And the Hammer of Kharas passed into the dwarven kingdom with assurances from the dwarves that it should be brought forth again at need-"

 

"It has been brought forth;' Tanis said, straggling to contain his rising anger. He had heard that quotation entirely too many times!

 

"II has been brought forth and will be left behind!" Sturm bit the words. "We might have taken it to Solamnia, used it to forge our own dragonlances

 

"And you would be another Huma, riding to glory, the Dragonlance in your hand!" Tanis's control snapped. "Meanwhile you'd let eight hundred people die-"

 

"No, I would not have let them die!" Sturm shouted in a towering rage. "The first clue we have to the dragonlances and you sell it for-"

 

Both men stopped arguing abruptly, suddenly aware of a shadow creeping from the darker shadows surrounding them.

 

"Shirak;' whispered a voice, and a bright light flared, gleaming from a crystal ball clutched in the golden, disembodied claw of a dragon atop a plain, wooden staff. The light illuminated the red robes of a magic-user.

 

The young mage walked toward the two, leaning upon has staff, coughing slightly. The light from his staff shone upon a skeletal face, with glistening metallic gold skin drawn tightly over fine bones. His eyes gleamed golden.

 

"Raistlin;" said Tanis, his voice tight. "Is there something you want?"

 

Raistlin did not seem at all bothered by the angry looks both men cast him, apparently well accustomed to the fact that few felt comfortable in his presence or wanted him around.

 

He stopped before the two. Stretching forth his frail hand, the mage spoke, "Akular-alan suh Tagolann Jistrathar." and a pale image of a weapon shimmered into being as Tanis and Sturm watched in astonishment.

 

It was a footman's lance, nearly twelve feet long. The point was made of pure silver, barbed and gleaming, the shaft crafted of polished wood. The kip was steel, designed to be thrust into the ground.

 

"It's beautiful!" Tanis gasped. "What is it?"

 

"A dragonlance;" Raistlin answered.

 

Holding the lance in his hand, the mage stepped between the two, who stood aside to let him pass as if unwilling to be touched by him. Their eyes were on the lance. Then Raistlin turned and held it out to Sturm.

 

"There is your dragonlance, knight," Raistlin hissed, "without benefit of the Hammer or the Silver Arm. Will you ride with it into glory, remembering that, for I-luma, with glory came death?"

 

Sturm's eyes flashed. He caught his breath in awe as he reached out to take hold of the dragonlance. To his amazement, his hand passed right through it! The dragonlance vanished, even as he touched it.

"More of your tricks!" he snarled. Spinning on his heel, he stalked away, choking in anger.

 

"If you meant that as a joke, Raistlin;' Tanis said quietly, "it wasn't funny:"

 

"A joke?" the mage whispered. His strange golden eyes followed the knight as Sturm walked into the thick blackness of the dwarven city beneath the mountain. "You should know me better, Tanis."

 

The mage laughed-the weird laughter Tanis had heard only once before. Then, bowing sardonically to the half-elf, Raistlin disappeared, following the knight into the shadows.

 

Book I

 

White-ringed ships. Hope lies across the Plains of Dust.

 

Tanis Half-Elven sat in the meeting of the Council of Highseekers and listened, frowning. Though officially the false religion of the Seekers was now dead, the group that made up the political leadership of the eight hundred refugees from Fax Tharkas was still called that.

 

"It isn't that we're not grateful to the dwarves for allowing us to live here;" stated Hederick expansively, waving his scarred hand. "We are all grateful, I'm certain. Just as we're grateful to those whose heroism in recovering the Hammer of Kharas made our move here possible:" Hederick bowed to Tanis, who returned the bow with a brief nod of his head. "But we are not dwarves!"

 

This emphatic statement brought murmurs of approval, causing Hederick to warm to his audience.

 

"We humans were never meant to live underground!" Loud calls of approval and some clapping of hands.

 

"We are farmers. We cannot grow food on the side of a mountain! We want lands like the ones we were forced to leave behind. And I say that those who forced us to leave our old homeland should provide us with new!"

 

"Does he mean the Dragon Highlords?" Sturm whispered sarcastically to Tanis. "I'm certain they'd be happy to oblige:'

 

"The fools ought to be thankful they're alive!" Tanis muttered. "Look at them, turning to Elistan-as if it were his doing!"

 

The cleric of Paladine-and leader of the refugees-rose to his feet to answer Hederick.

 

"It is because we need new homes;' Elistan said, his strong baritone resounding through the cavern, "that I propose we send a delegation south, to the city of Tarsis the Beautiful:"

 

Tanis had heard Elistan's plan before. His mind wandered over the month since he and his companions had returned from Derkin's Tomb with the sacred Hammer.

 

The dwarven Thanes, now consolidated under the leadership of Hornfel, were preparing to battle the evil coming from the north. The dwarves did not greatly fear this evil. Their mountain kingdom seemed impregnable. And they had kept the promise they made Tanis in return for the Hammer: the refugees from Pax Tharkas could settle in Southgate, the southernmost part of the mountain kingdom of Thorbardin.

 

Elistan brought the refugees to Thorbardin. They began trying to rebuild their lives, but the arrangement was not totally satisfactory.

 

They were safe, to be sure, but the refugees, mostly farmers, were not happy living underground in the huge dwarven caverns. In the spring they could plant crops on the mountainside, but the rocky soil would produce only a bare living. The people wanted to live in the sunshine and fresh air. They did not want to be dependent on the dwarves.

 

It was Elistan who recalled the ancient legends of Tarsis theBeautiful and its gull-winged ships. But that's all they werelegends, as Tanis had pointed out when Elistan first mentioned his idea. No one on this part of Ansalon had heard anything about the city of Tarsis since the Cataclysm three hundred years ago. At that time, the dwarves had closed off the mountain kingdom of Thorbardin, effectively shutting off all communication between the south and north, since the only way through the Kharolis Mountains was through Thorbardin.

 

Tanis listened gloomily as the Council of Highseekers voted unanimously to approve Elistan's suggestion. They proposed sending a small group of people to Tarsis with instructions to find what ships came into port, where they were bound, and how much it would cost to book passage-or even to buy a ship.

 

' And who's going to lead this group?" Tanis asked himself silently, though he already knew the answer.

 

All eyes now turned to him. Before Tanis could speak, Raistlin, who had been listening to all that was said without comment, walked forward to stand before the Council. He stared around at them, his strange eyes glittering golden.

 

"You are fools;" Raistlin said, his whispering voice soft with scorn, "and you are living in a fool's dream. How often must I repeat myself? How often must I remind you of the portent of the stars? What do you say to yourselves when you look into the night sky and see the gaping black holes where the two constellations are missing?"

 

The Council members shifted in their seats, several exchanging long-suffering glances indicative of boredom.

 

Raistlin noticed this and continued, his voice growing more and more contemptuous. "Yes, I have heard some of you saying that it is nothing more than a natural phenomenon-a thing that happens, perhaps, like the falling of leaves from the trees:'

 

Several Council members muttered among themselves, nodding. Raistlin watched silently for a moment, his lip curled in derision. Then he spoke once more. "I repeat, you are fools. The constellation known as the Queen of Darkness is missing from the sky because the Queen is present here upon Krynn. The Warrior constellation, which represents the ancient God Paladine, as we are told in the Disks of Mishakal, has also returned to Krynn to fight her:'

 

Raistlin paused. Elistan, who stood among them, was a prophet of Paladine, and many here were converts to this new religion. He could sense the growing anger at what some considered his blasphemy. The idea that gods would become personally involved in the affairs of men! Shocking! But being considered blasphemous had never bothered Raistlin.

 

His voice rose to a high pitch. "Mark well my words! With the Queen of Darkness have come her 'shrieking hosts; as it says in the 'Canticle: And the shrieking hosts are dragons!" Raistlin drew out the last word into a hiss that, as Flint said, "shivered the skin:"

 

"We know all this;" Hederick snapped in impatience. It was past time for the Theocrat's nightly glass of mulled wine, and his thirst gave him courage to speak. He immediately regretted it, however, when Raistlin's hourglass eyes seemed to pierce the Theocrat like black arrows. "W-what are you driving at?"

 

"That peace no longer exists anywhere on Krynn;' the mage whispered. He waved a frail hand. "Find ships, travel where you will. Wherever you go, whenever you look up into the night sky, you will see those gaping black holes. Wherever you go, there will be dragons!"

 

Raistlin began to cough. His body twisted with the spasms, and he seemed likely to fall, but his twin brother, Caramon, ran forward and caught him in his strong arms.

 

After Caramon led the mage out of the Council meeting, it seemed as if a dark cloud had been lifted. The Council members shook themselves and laughed-if somewhat shakily-and talked of children's tales. To think that war had spread to all of Krynn was comic. Why, the war was near an end here in Ansalon already. The Dragon Highlord, Verminaard, had been defeated, his draconian armies driven back.

 

The Council members stood and stretched and left the chamber to head for the alehouse or their homes.

 

They forgot they had never asked Tanis if he would lead the group to Tarsis. They simply assumed he would.

 

Tass, exchanging grim glances with Sturm, left the cavern. It was his night to stand watch. Even though the dwarves might consider themselves safe in their mountain fortress, 'Tanis and Sturm insisted that a watch be kept upon the walls leading into Southgate. They had come to respect the Dragon Highlords toomuch to sleep in peace without it-even underground.

 

Tanis leaned against the outer wall of Southgate, his face thoughtful and serious. Before him spread a meadow covered by smooth, powdery snow. The night was calm and still. Behind him was the great mass of the Kharolis Mountains. The gate of Southgate was, in fact, a gigantic plug in the side of the mountains. It was part of the dwarven defenses that had kept the world out for three hundred years following the Cataclysm and the destructive Dwarven Wars.

 

Sixty feet wide at the base and almost half again as high, the gate was operated by a huge mechanism that forced it in and out of the mountain. At least forty feet thick in its center, the gate was as indestructible as any known on Krynn, except for the one matching it in the north. Once shut, they could not be distinguished from the faces of the mountain, such was the craftsmanship of the ancient dwarvenmasons.

 

Yet, since the arrival of the humans at Southgate, torches had been set about the opening, allowing the men, women, and children access to the outside air-a human need that seemed an unaccountable weakness to the subterranean dwarves.

 

As Tanis stood there, staring into the woods beyond the meadow and finding no peace in their quiet beauty, Sturm, Elistan, and Laurana joined him. The three had been talkingobviously of him-and fell into an uncomfortable silence.

 

"How solemn you are;" Laurana said to Tanis softly, coming near and putting her hand on his arm. "You believe Raistlin is right, don't you, Tanthal-Tanis?" Laurana blushed. His human name still came clumsily to her lips, yet she knew him well enough now to understand that his elven name only brought him pain.

 

Tanis looked down at the small, slender hand on his arm and gently put his own over it. Only a few months earlier the touch would have irritated him, causing confusion and guilt as he wrestled with the love for a human woman against what he told himself was a childhood infatuation with this elfmaiden. But now the touch of Laurana's hand filled him wit,, warmth and peace, even as it stirred his blood. He pondered these new, disturbing feelings as he responded to her question.

 

"I have long found Raistlin's advice sound;' he said, knowing how this would upset them. Sure enough, Sturm's face darkened. Elistan frowned. "And I think he is right this time. We have won a battle, but we are a long way from winning the war. We know it is being fought far north, in Solamnia. I think we may safely assume that it is not for the conquest of Abanasinia alone that the forces of darkness are fighting:"

 

"But you are only speculating!" Elistan argued. "Do not let the darkness that hangs around the young wage cloud your thinking. He may be right, but that is no reason to give up hope, to give up trying! Tarsis is a large seaport city-at least according to all we know of it. There we'll find those who can tell us if the war encompasses the world. If so, then surely there still must be havens where we can find peace:'

 

"Listen to Elistan, Tanis," Laurana said gently. "He is wise. When our people left Qualinesti, they did not flee blindly. They traveled to a peaceful haven. My father had a plan, though he dared not reveal it-"

 

Laurana broke off, startled to- see the effect of her speech. Abruptly Tanis snatched his arm from her touch and turned his gaze on Elistan, his eyes filled with anger.

 

"Raistlin says hope is the denial of reality;" Tanis stated coldly. Then, seeing Elistan's care-worn face regard him with sorrow, the half-elf smiled wearily. "I apologize, Elistan. I am tired, that's all. Forgive me. 'your suggestion is good. We'll travel to Tarsis with hope, if nothing else."

 

Elistan nodded and turned to leave. "Are you coming, Laurana? I know you are tired, my dear, but we have a great deal to do before I can turn the leadership aver to the Council in my absence."

 

"I'll be with you presently, Elistan;" Laurana said, flushing. "I-I want to speak a moment with Tanis.'

 

Elistan gave them both an appraising, understanding look, then walked through the darkened gateway with Sturm. Tanis began dousing the torches, preparatory- to the closing of the gate. Laurana stood near the entrance, .her expression growing cold as it became obvious Tanis was ignoring her.

 

"What is the matter with you?" she said finally. "It almost sounds as if you are taking that Clark-sauled mage's part against Elistan, one of the best and wisest humans I have ever met!"

 

"Don't judge Raistlin, Laurana;' Tanis said harshly, thrusting a torch into a bucket of water, The light vanished with a hiss

 

"Things aren't always black and white, as you elves are inclined to believe. The mage has saved our lives more than once. I have come to rely upon his thinking-which, I admit, I find easier to rely on than blind faith!"

 

"You elves!" Laurana cried. "How typically human that sounds! There is more elven in you than you care to admit, Tanthalas! You used to say you didn't wear the beard to hide your heritage, and I believed you. But -now I'm not so certain. I've lived around humans long enough to know how they feel about elves! But I'm proud of my heritage. You're not! You're ashamed of it. Why? Because of that human woman you're in love with! What's her name, Kitiara?"

 

"Stop it, Laurana!" Tanis shouted. Hurling down a torch to the ground, he strode to the elven maiden standing in the doorway. "If you want to discuss relationships, what about you and Elistan? He may be a cleric of Paladine, but he's a man-a fact to which you can, no doubt, testify! All I hear from you;" he mimicked her voice, " is 'Elistan is so wise; 'Ask Elistan, he'll know what to do; 'Listen to Elistan, Tanis-' "

 

"How dare you accuse me of your own failings?" Laurana returned. "I love Elistan. I reverence him. He is the wisest man I have known, and the gentlest. He is self-sacrificing-his entire life is wrapped up in serving others. But there is only one man I love, only one man I have ever loved-though now I am beginning to ask myself if perhaps I haven't made a mistake! You said, in that awful place, the Sla-Mori, that I was behaving like a little girl and I had better grow up. Well, I have grown, Tanis Half-Elven. In these past few bitter months, I have seen suffering and death. I have been afraid as I never knew fear existed! I have learned to fight, and I have dealt death to my enemies. All of that hurt me inside until I'm so numb I can't feel the pain anymore. But what hurts worse is to see you with clear eyes:"

 

"I never claimed to be perfect, Laurana;' Tanis said quietly.

 

The silver moon and the red had risen, neither of them full yet, but shining brightly enough for Tanis to see tears in Laurana's luminous eyes. He reached out his hands to take her in his arms, but she took a step backwards.

 

"You may never claim it;" she said scornfully, "but you certainly enjoy allowing us to think it!"

 

Ignoring his outstretched hands, she grabbed a torch from the wall and walked into the darkness beyond the gate of Thorbardin. Tanis watched her leave, watched the light shine on her honey-colored hair, watched her walk, as graceful as the slender aspens of their elven homeland of Qualinesti.

 

Tanis stood for a moment, staring after her, scratching the thick, reddish beard that no elf on Krynn could grow. Pondering Laurana's last statement, he thought, incongruously, of Kitiara. He conjured up pictures in his mind of Kit's cropped, curly black hair, her crooked smile, her fiery, impetuous temper, and her strong, sensual body-the body of a trained swordswoman, but he discovered to his amazement that now the picture dissolved, pierced 6y the calm, clear gaze of two slightly slanted, luminous, elven eyes.

 

Thunder rolled out from the mountain. The shaft that moved the huge stone gate began to turn, grinding the door shut. Tanis, watching it shut, decided he would not go in. "Sealed in a tomb:' He smiled, recalling Sturm's words, but there was a shiver in his soul as well. He stood for long moments, staring at the door, feeling its weight settle between him and Laurana. The door sealed shut with a dull boom. The face of the mountain was blank, cold, forbidding.

 

With a sigh, Tanis pulled his cloak about him and started toward the woods. Even sleeping in the snow was better than sleeping underground. He had better get used to it anyway. The Plains of Dust they would be traveling through to reach Tarsis would probably be choked with snow', even this early in the winter.

 

Thinking of the journey as he walked, Tanis looked up into the night sky. It was beautiful, glittering with stars. But two gaping black holes marred the beauty. Raistlin's missing constellations.

 

Holes in the sky. Holes in himself.

 

After his fight with Laurana, Tanis was almost glad to start on the journey. All the companions had agreed tar go. Tanis knew that none of them felt truly at home among the refugees.

 

Preparations for the journey gave him plenty to think about. He was able to tell himself he didn't care that Laurana avoided him. .end, at the beginnings the journey itself ways enjoyable. It seemed as if they were back in the early days of fall instead ofthe beginning of winter. The sun shone, warming the air. Only Raistlin wore his heaviest cloak.

 

Conversation as the companions walked through the northern part of the Plains was light-hearted and merry, filled with teasing and bantering and reminding each other of the fun they had shared in earlier, happier days in Solace. No one spoke of the dark and evil things they had seen in the recent past. It was as if, in the contemplation of a brighter future, they willed these things never to have existed.

 

At night, Elistan explained to them what he was learning o£ the ancient gods from the Disks of Mishakal, which he carried with him. His stories filled their souls with peace and reinforced their faith. Even Tanis-who had spent a lifetime searching for something to believe in and now that they had found it viewed it with skepticism-felt deep in his soul that he could believe in this if he believed in anything. He wanted to believe in it, but something held him back, and every time he looked at Laurana, he knew what it was. Until he could resolve his own inner turmoil, the raging division between the elven and human inside of him, he would never know peace.

 

Only Raistlin did not share in the conversations, the merriment, the pranks and jokes, the campfire talks. The mage spent his days studying his spellbook. If interrupted, he would answer with a snarl. After dinner, of which he ate little, he sat by himself, his eyes on the night sky, staring at the two gaping black holes that were mirrored in the mage's black hourglassshaped pupils.

 

It was only after several days that spirits began to flag. The sun was obscured by clouds and the wind blew chill from the north. Snow fell so thickly that one day they could not travel at all but were forced to seek shelter in a cave until the blizzard blew itself out. They set double watch at night, though no one could say exactly why, only that they felt a growing sense of threat and menace. Riverwind stared uneasily at the trail they left in the snow behind them. As Flint said, a blind gully dwarf could follow it. The sense of menace grew, the sense of eyes watching and ears listening.

 

Yet who could it be, out here in the Plains of Dust whew nothing and no one had lived for three hundred years?

 

Chapter 2

 

Between master and dragon.  Dismal journey.

 

      The dragon sighed, flexed his huge wings, and lifted his ponderous body from the warm, soothing maters of the hot springs. Ernerging from a billowing cloud of vapor, he braced himself to step into the chill air. The clear winter air stung his delicate nostrils and bit into his throat. Swallowing painfully, he firmly resisted the temptation to return do the warm pools and began to climb to the high rocky ledge above him.

 

The dragon stamped irritably upon rocks slick with ice from the hot springs' vapor, which cooled almost instantly in thefreezing air. The stones cracked and broke beneath his clawed feet, bounding and tumbling down into the valley below.

 

Once he slipped, causing him momentarily to lose his balance. Spreading his great wings, he recovered easily, but the incident only served to increase his irritation further.

 

The morning sun lit the mountain peaks, touching the dragon, causing his blue scales to shimmer golden in the clear light but doing little to warm his blood. The dragon shivered again, stamping his feet upon the chill ground. Winter was not for the blue dragons, nor was travel in this abyssmal country. With that thought in mind, as it had been in his mind all the long, bitter night, Skie looked about for his master.

 

He found the Dragon Highlord standing upon an outcropping of rock, an imposing figure in horned dragonhelm and blue dragon-scale armor. The Highlord, cape whipping in the chill wind, was gazing with intense interest across the great flat plain far below.

 

"Come, Lord, return to your tent:' And let me return to the hot springs, Skie added mentally. "This chill wind cuts to the bone. Why are you out here anyway?"

 

Skie might have supposed the Highlord was reconnoitering, planning the disposition of troops, the attacks of the dragonflights. But that was not the case. The occupation of Tarsis had long been planned-planned, in fact, by another Dragon Highlord, for this land was under the command of the red dragons.

 

The blue dragons and their Dragon Highlords controlled the north, yet here I stand, in these frigid southlands, Skie thought irritably. And behind me is an entire flight of blue dragons. He turned his head slightly, looking down upon his fellows beating their wings in the early morning, grateful for the hot springs' warmth which took the chill from their tendons.

 

Fools, Skie thought scornfully. All they're waiting for is a signal from the Highlord to attack. To light the skies and burn the cities with their deadly bolts of lightning are all they care about. Their faith in the Dragon Highlord is implicit t. As well it might be, Skie admitted-their master had led them to victory after victory in the north, and they had not lost one of their number.

 

They leave it to me to ask the questions-because I am the Highlord's mount, because I am closest to the Highlord. Well, so be it. We understand each other, the Highlord and I.

 

'We have no reason to be in Tarsis:' Skie spoke his feelings plainly. He did not fear the Highlord. Unlike many of the dragons in Krynn who served their masters with grudging reluctance, knowing themselves to be the true rulers, Skie served his master out of respect-and love. "The reds don"t want us here, that's certain. And we're not needed. That soft city that beckons you so strangely will fall easily. No army. They swallowed the bait and marched off to the frontier:'

 

"We are here because my spies. tell me they are here-or will be shortly" was the Highlord's answer. The voice was low but carried even aver the biting wind.

 

"They . . . they . . :' grumbled the dragon, shivering and moving restlessly along the ridge. "We leave the war in the north, waste valuable time, lose a fortune in steel. And for what-a handful of itinerant adventurers:"

 

"The wealth is nothing to me, you know that. I could buy Tarsis if it pleased me:' The Dragon Highlord stroked the dragon's neck with an ice-caked leather glove that creaked with the powerful movements. "'The war in the north is going well. Lord Ariakus did not mind my leaving. Bakaris is a skilled young commander and knows my armies nearly as well as I do. And do not forget, Skie, these are more than vagabonds. These '.itinerant adventurers' killed Verminaard."

 

"Bah! The man had already dug his own grave. He was obsessed, font sight of the true purpose:' The dragon flicked a glance at his master. "The same might be said of others:'

 

"Obsessed; Yes, Verminaard was obsessed, and there are those who should be taking that obsession snore seriously. He was a cleric, he knew what damage the knowledge of the true ;gads, once spread among the people, can do us," answered the f-Iighlord. "Now, according to reports, the people have a leader in this human called Elistan, who has become a cleric of Paladine. Worshipers of Mishakal bring true healing back to the land. No, Verminaard was farseeing. There is great danger here. We should recognize and move to stop it-not scoff at it:"

 

The dragon snorted derisively. "This priest -Elistan~ doesri t lead the people. He leads eight hundred wretched humans, former slaves of Verminaard's in Pax Tharkas. Nowthey're holed up in Southgate, with the mountain dwarves:' The dragon settled down on the rock, feeling the morning sun finally bringing a modicum of warmth to his scaled skin. "Besides, our spies report they are traveling to Tarsis even as we speak. By tonight, this Elistan will be ours and that will be that. So much for the servant of Paladine!"

 

"Elistan is of no use to me:' The Dragon Highlord shrugged without interest. "He is not the one I seek:'

 

"No?" Skie raised his head, startled. 'Who, then?"

 

"There are three in whom I have particular interest. But I will provide you with descriptions oar all of them-"The Dragon Highlord moved closer to Skie- "because it is to capture them that we participate in the destruction of Tarsis tomorrow. Here are those whom we seek. . . :"

 

Tanis strode across the frozen plains, his booted footsteps punching noisily through the crust of wind-swept snow. The sun rose at his back, bringing a great deal of light but little warmth. He clutched his cloak about him and glanced around to make certain no one was lagging behind. The companions line stretched out single-file. They trod in each other"s tracks, the heavier, stronger people in front clearing the way for the weaker ones behind them.

 

Tanis led them. Sturm walked beside him, steadfast and faithful as ever, though still upset over leaving behind the Hammer of Kharas, which had taken on an almost mystical quality for the knight. He appeared more careworn and tired than usual, but he never failed to keep step with Tanis. This was not an easy feat, since the knight insisted on traveling in his full, antique battle armor, the weight of which forced Sturm's feet deep into the crusted snow.

 

Behind Sturm and Tanis came Caramon, trudging through the snow like a great bear, his arsenal of weapons clanking around him, carrying his armor and his share of supplies, as well as those of his twin brother, Raistlin, on his back. Just watching Caramon made Tanis weary, for the big warrior was not only walking through the deep snow with ease but was also managing to widen the trail for the others behind him.

 

Of all of the companions the one Tanis might have felt closest to, since they had been raised together as brothers, was the next, Gilthanas. But Gilthanas was an elflord, younger son of the Speaker of the Suns, ruler of the Qualinesti elves, while Tanis was a bastard and only half elven, product of a brutal rape by a human warrior. Worse, Tanis had dared to find himself attracted-even if in a childish, immature fashion-to Gilthanas's sister, Laurana. And so, far from being friends, Tanis always had the uneasy impression that Gilthanas might well be pleased to see him dead.

 

Riverwind and Goldmoon walked together behind the elflord. Cloaked in their furskin capes, the cold was little to the Plainsmen. Certainly the cold was nothing compared to the flame in their hearts. They had been married only a little over a month, and the deep love and compassion each felt for the other, a self-sacriificing love that had led the world to the discovery of the ancient gods, now achieved greater depths as they discovered new ways to express it.

 

Then came Elistan and Laurana. Elistan and Laurana. Tanis found it odd that, thinking enviously of the happiness of Riverwind .and Goldmoon, his eyes should encounter these two. elistan and Laurana. Always together. Always deeply involved in serious conversation. Elistan, cleric of Paladine, resplendent in white robes that gleamed even against the snow. White-bearded, his. hair thinning; he was shill an imposing figure. The kind of man who might well attract a young girl. few men or women could look unto Elistan's ice-blue eyes and not feel stirred, awed in the presence of one who had walked tile realms of death -and found a new and stronger faith.

 

With him walked his faithful 'assistant,' Laurana. The young elfmaid had run away from her home in Qualinesti to follow Tanis in childish infatuation. She had been forced to grow up rapidly; her eyes -opened to the pain and suffering in the world.Knowing that many of the party-Tanis, among them - considered her a nuisance, Laurana struggled to prove her worth. With Elistan. she found her chance. Daughter to the Speaker of the Suns of the Qualinesti. she had been born .and bred to politics.. When Ellistan-was foundering among the rocks trying to feed and. clothe and control eight hundred men, women, and children,. it was Laurana who stepped in and  eased his burden. She had become Indispensable to him, a fact Tanis found difficult to deal with. The half-eaf gritted his teeth let

 

 

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"Something's wrong. Do you want me to go with you?"

 

Tanis, seeing the weariness in the knight's face, shook his head, "You get the others organized:" Dressed in a winter traveling cloak of white, he prepared to climb the snow-covered, rock-strewn hills, Ready to start, he felt a cold hand on his arm. He turned and looked into the eyes of the mage.

 

"I will come with you;' Raistlin whispered.

 

Tanis stared at him in astonishment, then glanced up at the hills. The climb would not be an easy one, and he knew the mage's dislike of extreme physical exertion. Raistlin saw his glance and understood.

 

"My brother will help me;' he said, beckoning to Caramon, who appeared startled but stood up immediately and came over to stand beside his brother. "I would look upon the city of Tarsis the Beautiful:"

 

Tanis regarded him uneasily, but Raistlin's face was as impassive and cold as the metal it resembled.

 

"Very well," the hall-elf said, studying Raistlin. "But you'll show up an the face of that mountain like a blood stain. Cover yourself with a white robe:" The half-elf's sardonic smile was an almost perfect imitation of Raistlin's own. "Borrow one from Elistan."

 

Tanis, standing on the top of the hill overlooking the legendary seaport city of Tarsis the Beautiful, began to swear softly. Wispy clouds of steam floated from his lips with the hot wards. Drawing the hood of his heavy cloak over his head, he stared down into tire city in bitter disappointment.

 

Caramon nudged hits twin. "Raist," he said. "What"s the matter? I don't understand:"

 

Raistlin coughed. "'Your brains are in your swordarm, mg brother;" the mage whispered caustically. "Look upon Tarsis, legendary seaport city. What do you see?"

 

"Well . . . " Caramon squinted. "It's one of the biggest cities I've seen. And there acre ships-just like we heard-'

 

""The white-winged ships of Tarsis the Beautiful;" Raistlin quoted bitterly. "You look upon the ships, my brother. Do you notice anything peculiar about them?"

 

"They're not in very good shape. The sails are ragged and=" Caramon blinked. Thin he gasped. "There's no water!"

 

"Most observant:'

 

"But the kender's map-'

 

"Dated before the Cataclysm;" Tanis interrupted. "Damn it, I should have known! I should have considered this possibility" Tarsis the Beautiful-legendary seaport-now landlocked!"

 

"And has been for three hundred years, undoubtedly;" Rais^ tlin whispered. "When the fiery mountain fell from the sky^, it created seas-as we saw in Xak Tsaroth-but it also destroyed them. What do we do with the refugees now, Half-elf"

 

"I don't know," Tanis snapped irritably. He stared down at the city, then turned away. "It's no good standing around here. The sea isn't going to comeback just for our benefit. " He turned away and walked slowly down the cliff.

 

"What will we do?" Caramon asked his brother. "We can't go back to Southgate. I know something or someone was dogging our footsteps:' He glanced around worriedly. "I feel eyes watching-even now."

 

Raistlin put his hand through his brothels arm. For a rare instant, the two looked remarkably alike. Light and darkness were not more different than the twins.

 

"You are wise to trust your feelings, my brother," Raistlin said softly "Great danger and great evil surround us, l have felt it growing an me since the people arrived in Southgate, I tried to warn them-" He broke off in a fit of coughing.

 

`How do you know'" Caramon asked.

 

Raistlin shook his head, unable to answer for long moments Then, when the spasm had passed, he drew a shuddering, breath and glanced at his brother irritably. "HareT.'t you learned yet'"" he said bitterly. "I know! Put it at that. I paid for my knowledge in the Towers of High Sorcery. I paid for it with my body and very nearly my reason. I paid for it with:-` Raistlin stopped, looking at his twin.

 

Caramon was pale and silent as always whenever the Testing was mentioned. He started to say something, chokes;, then cleared his throat. "It's just that I don't understand-'"

 

Raistlin sighed and shook his head, withdrawing his arm from his brother"s. Then, leaning on his staff, he began to walk down the hill :   "Nor will you;' he murmured. "Ever.'

 

Three hundred years ago, Tarsis the Beautiful was Lordcity of the lands of Abanasinia. From here set sail the white-winged ships for all the known lands of Krynn. Here they returned, bearing all manner of objects, precious and curious, hideous and delicate. The Tarsian marketplace was a thing of wonder. Sailors swaggered the streets, their golden earrings flashing as brightly as their knives. The ships brought exotic peoples from distant lands to sell their wares. Some dressed in gaily colored, flowing silks, bedizened with jewels. They sold spices and teas, oranges and pearls, and bright-colored birds in cages. Others, dressed in crude skins, sold luxuriant furs from strange animals as grotesque as those who hunted them.

 

Of course, there were buyers at the Tarsian market as well; almost as strange and exotic and dangerous as the sellers. Wizards dressed in robes of white, red, or black strode the bazaars, searching for rare spell components to make their magic. Distrusted even then, they walked through the crowds, isolated and alone. Few spoke even to those wearing the white robes, and no one ever cheated them.

 

Clerics, too, sought ingredients for their healing potions. For there were clerics in Krynn before the Cataclysm. Some worshiped the gads of good, some the gods of neutrality, some the gods o£ evil. All had great power. Their prayers, for goad or far evil, were answered.

 

And always, walking among all the strange and exotic peoples gathered in the bazaar of Tarsis the Beautiful, were the Knights of Solamnia: keeping order, guarding the land, living their disciplined lives in strict observance of the Code and the Measure. The Knights were followers of Paladine, and were noted for their pious obedience to the gads.

 

The walled city of Tarsis had its own army and-so it was said-had never fallen to an invading force. The city was ruled-under the watchful eyes of the Knights--by a Lordfamily and had the good fortune to fall to the care of a family possessing sense, sensitivity, and justice. Tarsis became a center of learning; sages from lands all around came here to share their wisdom. Schools and a great library were established, temples were built to the gads. Young men and women eager Ear Knowledge came to Tarsis to study.

 

The early dragonwars had not affected Tarsis. The huge walled city; its formidable army 'its fleets of white-winged

ships, arid its vigilant Knights of Solamnia daunted even the Queen of Darkness. Before she could consolidate her power and strike the Lordcity, Huma drove her dragons from the skies. Thus Tarsis prospered and became, during the Age of Might, one of the wealthiest and proudest cities of Krynn.

 

And, as with so many other cities in Krynn, with its pride grew its conceit. Tarsis began seeking more and more from the gods: wealth, power, glory. The people worshiped the Kingpriest of ]star who, seeing suffering in the land, demanded of the gods in his arrogance whale they had granted Huma in humility. Even the Knights of Solamnia-bound by the strict laws of the Measure, encased in a religion that had become all ritual with little depth-fell under the swap of the mighty Kingpriest.

 

Then came the Cataclysm-a night of terror, when it rained fire. The ground heaved and cracked as the gods in their righteous anger hurled a mountain of rock down upon Krynn, punishing the Kingpriest of Istar and the people for their pride.

 

The people turned to the Knights of Solamnia. "You who are righteous, help usl" they cried. "Placate the gods!"

 

But the Knights could do nothing. The fire fell from the heavens, the land split asunder. The sea waters fled, the ships foundered and toppled, the wall of the city crumbled.

 

When the night of horror ended, Tarsis was landlocked. The white-winged ships lay upon the sand like wounded birds. Dazed and bleeding, the survivors tried to rebuild their city, expecting any moment to see the Knights of Solamnia come marching from their great fortresses in the north, marching from Palanthas, Salanthus, Vingaard Keep, Thelgaard, marching south to Tarsis to help them and protect them once more.

 

But the Knights did not come. They had their own troubles and could not leave Solamnia. Even if they had been able to march, a new sea split the lands of Abanasinai. The dwarves in their mountain kingdom of Thorbardin shut their gates, refusing admittance lea anyone, and so the mountain passes were f}locked. The elves withdrew into Qualinesti, nursing their wounds, blaming humans for the catastrophe. Soon, Tarsis lost all contact with the world to the north.

 

And so, following the Cataclysm, when it became apparent that the city had best abandoned by the Knights, came the Day

of Banishment. The lord of the city was placed in an awkward position. He did not truly believe in the corruption of .the Knights, but he knew the people needed something or someone to blame. If he sided with the Knights, he would lose control of the city, and so he was forced to close his eyes to angry mobs that attacked the few Knights remaining in Tarsis. They were driven from the city-or murdered.

 

After a time, order was restored in Tarsis. The lord and his family established a new army. But much was changed. The people believed the ancient gods they had worshiped for so long had turned away from them. They found new gods to worship, even though these new gods rarely answered prayers. All clerical powers that had been present in the land before the Cataclysm were lost. Clerics with false promises and false hopes proliferated. Charlatan healers walked the land, selling their phony cure-ails.

 

After a time, many of the people drifted away from Tarsis. No longer did sailors walk the marketplace; elves, dwarves, and other races came no more. The people remaining in Tarsis liked it this way. They began to fear and mistrust the outside world. Strangers were not encouraged.

 

But Tarsis had been a trade center far so long that those people in the outlying countryside who could still reach Tarsis continued to do so. The outer hub of the city was rebuilt. The inner part-the temples, the schools, the great library-was left in ruins. The bazaar was reopened, only now it was a market for farmers and a forum for false clerics preaching new religions. Peace settled over the town like a blanket. Farmer days of glory were as a dream and might not have even been believed, but f or the evidence in the center of town.

 

Now, of course, Tarsis heard rumors of war, but these were generally discounted, although the lard did send his army out to guard the plains to the south. If anyone asked why, he said it was a field exercise, nothing mare. These rumors, after all, had come out of the north, and all knew the Knights of Solamnia were trying desperately to reestablish their power. It was, amazing what lengths the traitorous Knights would go to spreading stories of the return of dragons!

 

This was Tarsis the Beautiful, the city the companions entered that morning, just a short time after sunrise.

 

Chapter 4

 

Arrested! The heroes are separated. An ominous farewell.

 

The few sleepy guards upon the city walls that morning woke up at the sight of the swordbearing, travel=worn group seeking entry. They did not deny them. They did not even question them-much. A redbearded, soft-Woken half-elf, the like of which had not been seen in Tarsis in decades, said they had traveled far and sought shelter. His companions stood quietly behind him, making no threatening gestures. Yawning, the guards directed them to the Red Dragon Inn.

 

This might have ended the matter. Tarsis, after all, wasbeginning to see more and more strange characters as rumors of war spread. But the cloak of one of the humans blew aside as he stepped through the gate, and a guard caught a flash of bright armor in the morning sun. The guard saw the hated and reviled symbol of the Knights of Solamnia on the antique breastplate. Scowling, the guard melted into the shadows, slinking after the group as it walked through the streets of the waking town.

 

The guard watched them enter the Red Dragon. He waited outside in the cold until he was sure they must be in their rooms. Then, slipping inside, he spoke a few words to the innkeeper. The guard peeped inside the common room and, seeing the group seated and apparently settled for some time, ran off to make his report.

 

"This is what comes of trusting a kender's map!" said the dwarf irritably, shoving away his empty plate and wiping his hand across his mouth. "Takes us to a seaport city with no sea!"

 

"It's not my fault;" Tas protested. "I told Tanis when I gave him the map that it dated before the Cataclysm. 'Tas; Tanis said before we left, 'do you have a map that shows us haw to get to Tarsis?' I said I did and I gave him this one. It shows Thorbardin, the dwarven kingdom under the mountain, and Southgate, and here it shows Tarsis, and everything else was right where the map said it was supposed to be. I can't help it if something happened to the ocean! I-"

 

"That's enough, Tas:' Tanis sighed. "Nobody's blaming you. It isn't anybody's fault. We just let our hopes get too high:'

 

The kender, his feelings mollified, retrieved his map, rolled it up, and slid it into his mapcase with all his other precious maps of Krynn. Then he put his small chin in his hands and sat staring around the table at his gloomy companions. They ?began to discuss what to do next, talking half-heartedly.

 

Tas grew bored. He wanted to explore this city. There were all kinds of unusual sights and sounds-Flint had been forced to practically drag him along as they entered Tarsis. There was a fabulous marketplace with wonderful things just lying around, waiting to be admired. He had even spotted some other kenders, too, and he wanted to talk to them. He was worried about his homeland. Flint kicked him under the table.

 

Sighing Tas turned his attention back to Tanis.

 

"We'll spend the night here, rest, and learn what we can, then send word back to Southgate:' Tanis was saying. "Perhaps there is another portcity farther south. Some of us might go on and investigate. What do you think, Elistan?"

 

The cleric pushed away a plate of uneaten food. "I suppose it is our only choice;' he said sadly. "But I will return to Southgate. I cannot be away from the people long. You should come with me, too, my dear," He laid his hand over Laurana's. "I cannot dispense with your help:'

 

Laurana smiled at Elistan. Then, her gaze moving to Tanis, tile smile vanished as she saw the half-elf scowl.

 

"Riverwind and I have discussed this already. We will return with Elistan;' Goldmoon said. Her silver-gold hair gleamed in tile sunlight streaming through the window. "The people need my healing skills:'

 

"Besides which the bridal couple misses the privacy of their tent;" Caramon said in an audible undertone. Goldmoon flushed a dusky rose color as her husband smiled.

 

Sturm glanced at Caramon in disgust and turned to Tan-is, "I will go with you, my friend;" he offered.

 

"Us, tom, of course;" said Caramon promptly.

 

Sturm frowned, looking at Raistlin, who sat huddled in his red robes near the fire, drinking the strange herbal concoction that eased his cough. "I do not think your brother is fit to travel, Caramon-" Sturm began.

 

"You are suddenly very solicitous of my health, knight;" Raistlin whispered sarcastically. "But, then, it is not my health that concerns you, is it, Sturm Brightblade? It is my growing power. You fear me-"

 

That's enough!" said Tanis as Sturm's face darkened.

 

"The mage goes back, or I do," Sturm said coldly.

 

"Sturm-" Tanis began..

 

Tasslehoff took this opportunity to leave the table very quietly. Everyone was focused an the argument between the knight, the half-elf, and the magic-user. Tasslehoff skipped out the front door of the Red Dragon; a name he thought particularly funny. But Tanis had .not laughed.

 

Tas thought about that as he walked along, looking at the new sights ire delight. Tanis didn't laugh at anything anymore.

The half-elf was certainly carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, it seemed. Tasslehoff suspected he knew what was wrong with Tanis. The kender took a ring out of one of his pouches and studied it. The ring was golden, of elven make, carved in the form of clinging ivy leaves. He had picked it up in Qualinesti. This time, the ring was not something the kender had "acquired: It had been thrown at his feet by a heartbroken Laurana after Tanis had returned it to her.

 

The kender considered all this and decided that splitting up and going off after new adventure was just what everyone needed. He, of course, would go with Tanis and Flint-the kender firmly believed neither could get along without him. But first, he'd get a glimpse of this interesting city.

 

Tasslehoff reached the end of the street. Glancing back, he could see the Red Dragon Inn. Good. No one was out looking for him yet. He was just about to ask a passing street peddler how to get to the marketplace when he saw something that promised to make this interesting city a whole lot mare interesting ....

 

Tanis settled the argument between Sturm and Raistlin, for the time being at least. The mage decided to stay in Tarsis to hunt for the remains of the old library. Caramon and Tika offered to stay with him, while Tanis, Sturm, and Flint (and Tas) would push southward, picking up the brothers on their way back. The rest of the group would take the disappointing news back to Southgate.

 

That being settled, Tanis went to the innkeeper to pay far their night's lodging. He was counting out silver coins when he felt a hand touch his arm.

 

"I want you to ask to have my room changed to one near Elistan's;' Laurana said.

 

Tanis glanced at her sharply. "Why is that?" he asked, trying to keep the harshness out of his voice.

 

Laurana sighed. "We're not going to go through this again" are we? "

 

"I have no idea what you mean;' Tanis said coldly, turning away from the grinning innkeeper.

 

"For the first time in my life, I'm doing something meaningful and useful;" Laurana said, catching hold of his arm. "And you want me to quit because of same jealous notion you have about me and Elistan-"

 

"I am not jealous," Tanis retorted, flushing. "I told you in Qualinesti that what was between us when we were younger is over now. I-" He paused, wandering if that were true. Even as he spoke, his soul trembled at her beauty. Yes, that youthful infatuation was gone, but was it being replaced by something else, something stronger and more enduring? And was he losing it? Had he already lost it" through his own indecisiveness and stubbornness? He was acting typically human, the half-elf thought. Refusing that which was in easy reach, only to cry for it when it was gone. He shook his head in confusion.

 

"If you're not jealous, then why don't you leave me alone and Let me continue my work for Elistan in peace?" Laurana asked coldly. "You-"

 

"shush!" Tanis held up his hand. Laurana, annoyed, started to talk, but Tanis glared at her so fiercely she fell silent.

 

Tanis listened. Yes, he"d been right. He could hear clearly now the shrulc• high-pitched" screaming whine of the leather sling on the end of Tas.'s hoopak staff. It was a peculiar sound, produced by the kender swinging the sling in a circle over his head" and it raised the hair on the back of the neck. It was also a kender signal for danger.

 

"Trouble;" Tanis said softly. "Get tire others:' Taking one look at his grim face, Lau-Tana obeyed without question. Tanis turned abruptly to face the innkeeper" who eras sidling around the desk. "Where are you going?" he asked sharply.

 

"Just Leaving tai check your rooms, sir;` the innkeeper said smoothly; and he vanished precipitously into the kitchen. Just then, Tasslehoff burst through the roar of the inn.

 

"Guards, Tanis! Guards^. Corning this way!"

 

"Surely they can't be here because of us;' Tanis said. He stopped; eyeing the light-fingered kender, struck by a sudden thought. "Tas-"

 

"It wasn't me, honest! " Tas protested„ ":I never even reached the marketplace! I Just got to the bottom of the street when I saw a whole troop of guards coming this direction."

 

"What's this about guards?" Sturm asked as he entered from the common ram. "Is this am of the kender's stories?"

 

"No. Listen;" Tanis said. Every one hushed. They could hearhe tramp of booted feet coming their direction and glanced at each other in apprehension and concern. "The innkeeper's disappeared. I thought we got into the city a bit too easily. I should have expected trouble." Tanis scratched his beard, well aware that everyone was looking to him for orders.

 

"Laurana, you and Elistan go upstairs. Sturm, you and Gilthanas remain with me. The rest of you go to your rooms. Riverwind, you're in command. You, Caramon, and Raistlin protect them. Use your magic, Raistlin, if necessary. Flint-"

 

"I'm staying with you;' the dwarf stated firmly.

 

Tanis smiled and put his hand on Flint's shoulder. "Of course, old friend. I didn't even think you needed telling:"

 

Grinning, Flint pulled his battle-axe out of its holder on his back. "Take this;' he said to Caramon. "Better you have it than any scurvy, lice-ridden city guards:'

 

"That's a good idea;` Tanis said. Unbuckling his swordbelt, he handed Caramon Wyrmslayer, the magical sword given to him by the skeleton of Kith-Kanan, the Elven King.

 

Gilthanas silently handed over his sword and his elven bow.

 

"Yours, too, knight;' Caramon said" holding out his hand.

 

Sturm frowned. Isis antique, two-handed sword and its scabbard were the only legacy he had left of his father" a great Knight of Solamnia, who had vanished after sending his wife and young ran into exile. Slowly Sturm unbuckled his swordbelt and handed it to Caramon.

 

The jovial warrior, seeing the knight's obvious concern, grew serious. "I'll guard it carefully, you know that, Sturm.''

 

"I know;" Sturm said, smiling sadly. He glanced up at Raistlin, who was standing on the stairs. "Besides, there is always the great worm, Catyrpelius, to protect it, isn't there, mage?"

 

Raistlin started at this unexpected reminder of a time in the burned-out city of Solace when he had tricked some hobgoblins into believing Sturm's sword was cursed. It was the closest to an expression of gratitude that the knight had ever made to the mage. Raistlin smiled. briefly.

 

"Yes;" he whispered. "There is always the Worm. Do not fear, knight. Your weapon is safe, as are the lives of those you leave in our care . . . if any are safe . . . . Farewell, my friends," he hissed, his strange" hourglass eyes gleaming. "And a long farewell it gill be. Same of us are not destined to meet again in this world"." With that, he bowed and, gathering his red robes around him, began to climb the stairs.

 

Trust Raistlin to exit with a flourish, Tanis thought irritably, hearing boated feet near the door.

 

"Go on!" he ordered. "If he's right, there's nothing we can do about it now:'

 

After a hesitant look at Tans, the others did as he ordered, climbing the stairs quickly. Only Laurana .cast a fearful glance back at Tanis as Elistan took her arm. Caramon, sword drawn, waited behind until the last was past.

 

"Don't worry," the big warrior said uneasily. "We'll be all right. If you're not back by nightfall-"

 

I) on't come looking for us!" Tanis said, guessing Caramon's intention. The half-elf was more disturbed than he cared to admit by Raistlin's ominous statement. He had known the wage many years and had seen his power grow, even as the shadows seemed to gather more thickly around him. "If we're not back, get Elistan, Goldmoon, and the others back to Southgate :'

 

Caramon nodded reluctantly, then he walked ponderously up the stairs, his weapons clanking around him.

 

"It's probably just a routine check," Sturm said hurriedly in a low voice as the guards could be seen through the window now. "They'll ask us a few questions, then release us. But, they've undoubtedly got a description of ally of us!"

 

"I have a feeling it isn't routine. Not the way everyone's vanished. .find they're going to have to Settle for some

 

said softly ' ~ --•  or us,' Tanis Softly a5 the guards entered the door, led by the constable and accompanied by the guard from the wall.

 

"That's them!" the guard cried, pointing. "There's the knight, like I told you. And the bearded elf, the dwarf, and the kender, and an elflord:'

 

"Right,:` the constable said briskly. ":Vow, where are the others?" At his gesture, his guards leveled their hauberks, pointing there at the companions.

 

"7 don't understand what all this is about;" Tanis sasid mildly. "We are strangers in Tarsis, simply passing through on our way south. Is this how you welcome strangers to your city?"

 

"We don't welcome strangers to our city," the constable replied. His gaze shifted to Sturm and he sneered. "Especially a Knight of Solanmia. If you're innocent as you say you are, you won't mind answering some questions from the Lord and his council. Where's the rest of your party?"

 

"My friends are tired and have gone to their rooms to rest. Our journey leas been long and tiring. But we do not want to cause trouble. The four of us will come with you and answer your questions. ('Five; said Tasslehoff indignantly, but everyone ignored him.) There is no need to disturb our companions:'

 

"Go get the others;' the constable ordered his men.

 

Two guards headed for the stairs, which suddenly burst into flame! Smoke billowed into the roam, driving the guards back. Everyone ran for the door. Tanis grabbed Tasslehoff, who was staring with wide-eyed interest, and dragged him outside.

 

The constable was frantically blowing on his whistle, while several of his men prepared to dash off through the streets, raising the alarm. But the flames died as quickly as they had been born.

 

"Eeep-"The constable choked off his whistle. His face pale, he stepped warily back inside the inn. Tanis, peering aver his shoulder, shook his head in .awe. There was not a whisper of smoke, not a bit of varnish had so much as peeled. From the top of the stairs, IIe could hear faintly the sound of Raistlin's voice. As the constable glanced apprehensively up the stairs, the chanting stopped.

 

Tanis swallowed, then drew a deep breath. He knew he must he as pale as the constable, and he glanced at Sturm and Flint. Raistlin's power was growing . . .

 

"The magician must be up there," the constable muttered.

 

"Very goad, Birdwhistle,and haw long'd it take you to figure that one out" Tas began in a tone of voice Tanis knew meant trouble. He trod upon the Kender's foot, and Tas subsided into silence with a reproachful dance.

 

Fortunately the constable didn't appear to have heard. He glared at Sturm. "You'll come with us peacefully'."'

 

"Yes," answered Sturm. "You love my word of honor;" the knight added "and no matter what you may think of the Knights, you know that my honor is my life."

 

The constable's eyes went to the dark stairway "Very well," he said finally. "Two of you guards stay here at the stair The rest cover the other exits. Check anyone coming in and out. You all have the descriptions of the strangers?"

 

The guards nodded, exchanging uneasy glances. The two slated for guard duty inside the inn gave the staircase a frightened look and stood as far from it as possible. Tanis smiled grimly to himself.

 

The five companions, the kender grinning with excitement, followed the constable out of the building. As they walked into the street, Tanis caught sight of movement at an upstairs window. Looking up, he saw Laurana watching, her face drawn with fear. She raised her hand, he saw her lips form the words, "I"m sorry," in elven. Raistlin's words came to his mind and he felt chilled. His heart ached. The thought that he might never see her again made the world seem suddenly bleak and empty and desolate. He realized what Laurana had come to mean to him in these last few dark months when even hope had died as he saw the evil armies of the Dragon Highlords overrun the land. Her steadfast faith, her courage, her unfailing, undying hope! How different from Kitiara!

 

The guard poked Tanis in the back. "Face forward! Quit signaling to those friends of yaurn!" he snarled. The half-elf's thoughts returned to Kitiara. No, the warrior woman could never have acted so selflessly. She never could have helped the people as Laurana had helped them. Kit would have grown impatient and angry and left them to live or die as they chose. She detested and despised those weaker than herself.

 

Tanis thought -of Kitiara and he thought of Laurana, but he was interested to note that the old painful thrill didn't knot his soul anymore when he said Kitiara's name to himself. No, now it was Laurana-the silly little girl who, had been no more than a spoiled and irritating child only months before-who made leis blood .burn and his hands search for excuses to touch her. And now, perhaps, it was too late.

 

When he reached the end of the street, he glanced back again, hoping to give her same sort of sign. Let her know he understood. Let her know he'd been a fool. Let her know he

 

But the curtain was drawn.

 

Chapter 5

The riot. Tas disappears.  Alhana Starbreeze.

 

 

"Foul knight . . "

 

A rock struck Sturm on the shoulder. The knight flinched, though the stone could have caused him little pain through his armor. Tanis, looking at his pale face and quivering moustaches, knew the pain was deeper than a weapon could inflict.

 

'The crowds grew as the companions were marched through the street and word of their taming spread. Sturm walked with dignity, his, head held proudly, ignoring the taunts and jeers. Although their guards shoved the crowd back time and again, they did it half-heartedly and the crowd knew it. More rocks were thrown, as were other objects even less pleasant. Soon all of the companions were cut and bleeding and covered with garbage and filth.

 

Tanis knew Sturm would never stoop to retaliation, not on this rabble, but the half-elf had to keep a firm grip on Flint. Even then, he was in constant fear the angry dwarf would charge past the guards and start breaking heads. But, in watching Flint, Tanis had forgotten Tasslehoff.

 

Besides being quite casual in respect to other people's property, kenders have another unendearing characteristic known as the "taunt." A,II kenders possess this talent to a greater or lesser degree., It is hoses their diminutive race has managed to thrive and survive in a world of knights and warriors, trolls and hobgoblins. The taunt is the ability to insult an enemy and work him into such .a fever pitch of rage that he loses his head and begins fighting wildly and erratically- Tas was a master at the taunt, though he rarely found a need to use it when traveling with his warrior friends. But Tas derided to take full advantage of this opportunity.

 

He began to shout insults back.

 

Too late Tanis realised what was happening. In vain he tried to shut him up. 'Las was at the front off the line, the half-elf at the hack, and there was no way to gag the kender.

 

Such insults as 'foul knight" and 'elven scum' lacked imagination, Tas felt. He derided to show these people exactly how much range and scope for variety were available in the Common language. Tasslehoff's insults were masterpieces of creativity and ingenuity: Unfortunately, that,, also tended to be extremely personal and occasionally rather crude, delivered with an .air of charming innocence..

 

'7s that your nose or a disease? -Can those fleas crawling on your body do tricks? Was your mother a gully dwarf?" were only the beginning Matters went rapidly dawn hill from there.

 

The guards began  eyeing angry crowd in alarm, while the constable gave the order to hurry the prisoners' march. What he had seen as a victory procession exhibit ing trophies of conquest appeared to be disintegrating into a full-scale riot.

 

'Shut that Kender up!" he yelled furiously.

 

Tanis tried desperately to reach Tasslehoff, but the struggling guards acid the surging crowd made it impossible. Gilthanas was knocked off his feet. Sturm bent over the elf, trying to protect him. Flint was kicking and flailing about in a rage. Tanis had just neared Tasslehoff when he was hit in the face with a tomato and momentarily blinded.

 

"Hey, constable, you know what you could do with that whistle? You could-"

 

Tasslehoff never got a chance to tell the constable what he might do with the whistle, because at that instant a large hand plucked him up out of the center of the melee. A hand clapped itself over Tas's mouth, while two more pairs of hands gripped the Kender's wildly kicking feet. A sack was popped over his head, and all Tas saw or smelled from that point on was burlap as he felt himself being carried away,

 

Tanis, wiping tomato from hisstinging eyes, heard the sound of boated feet and mare shouts and yells. The crowd hooted and jeered, them brake and ran. When he could finally see again, the half-elf glanced around quickly to make certain

 

everyone was all right. Sturm was helping Gilthanas rise, wiping blood from a cut on the elf's forehead. Flint, swearing fluently, plucked cabbage from his beard.

 

"Where's that blasted ken de r!" the dwarf roared. "I'll-" He stopped and stared, fuming this way and that. "Where is that blasted Kender? Tas? So help me-"

 

"Hush!" Tanis ordered, realizing Tas had managed to escape.

 

Flint turned purple. 'Why that little bastard)" he swore. "He was the one got us into this and he left us to-"

 

"Shhhl" Tamil said, glaring at the dwarf.

 

Flint ducked and fell silent.

 

The constable hustled his prisoners into the Hall of Justice. It was only when they were safely inside the ugly brick building chat he realized one of them was missing.

 

"Shall we go after him, sari" asked a guard.

 

The constable thought a moment, then shook his head in anger. "Don't waste your time," he said bitterly. 'Do you know what it's like trying t0 fin) a kender who doesn't want to be found? CST. let him go We've still got the important ores. Have them wait byre white I inform the Council:'

 

The constable entered a plain wooden door, leaving the companions and their guards standing in a dark, smelly hallway A tinker lay in a corner, snoring noisily, obviously having taken too much wine. The guards wiped pumpkin rind off their uniforms and grimly divested themselves of carrot tops and other garbage that clung to them. Gilthanas dabbed at the blood on his face. Sturm tried to clean his cloak as best he could.

 

The constable returned, beckoning from the doorway.

 

"Bring them along:"

 

As the guards shoved their prisoners forward, Tanis managed to get near Sturm. "Who's in charge here?" he whispered.

 

"If we are fortunate, the Lord is still in control of the city;" the knight replied softly. "The Tarsian lords always had the reputation for being noble and honorable:' He shrugged. "Besides, what charges do they have against us? We've done nothing. At the worst, an armed escort will make us leave the city."

 

Tanis shook his head dubiously as he entered the court room. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to tile dimness of the dingy chambers that smelled even worse than the hallway. Two of the Tarsian council members held) oranges studded with cloves up to their noses.

 

The six members of the council were seated at the bench, which stood upon a tall platform, three upon either side of their Lard, whose tall chair sat in the center. The Load glanced up as they entered. His eyebrows raised slightly at the sight of Sturm, and it seemed to Tanis that his face softened. The Lord even nodded in a gesture of polite greeting to the knight. Tanis's hopes rose. The companions walked forward to stand before the bench. There were no chairs. Supplicants or prisoners before the council stand to present their cases.

 

"What is the charge against these men?" the lord asked.

 

The constable gave the companions a baleful glance.

 

"Inciting a riot, milord;' he said.

 

"Riot!" Flint exploded. "We had nothing to do with any riot! It oral that rattle-brained=

 

A figure in long robes crept forward from the shadows to whisper in his Lordship's ear. None of the companions had noticed the figure as they entered. They noticed it now.

 

Flint coughed and fell silent, giving Tanis a meaningful, grim loo k from beneath his thick, white eyebrows. The dwarf shook his head, his shoulders slumped. Tanis, sighed wearily. Gilthanas wiped) blood from his cut with a shaking hand, his elven features pale with hatred. Only Sturm stood outwardly calm and unmoved as he looked upon the twisted half-man, half-reptilian face of a draconian.

 

The companions remaining in the Inn sat together in Elistan's room for at least an hour after the others were taken away by the guards. Caramon remained on guard near the door, his sword drawn. Riverwind kept watch out the window. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of the angry mob and looked at each other with tense, strained faces. Then the noise faded. No one disturbed them. The Inn was deathly quiet.

 

The morning wore on without incident. The pale, cold sun climbed in the sky, doing little to warm the winter day. Caramon sheathed his sword and yawned. Tika dragged a chair over to sit beside him. Riverwind went to stand watchfully near Goldmoon, who was talking quietly to Elistan, making plans for the refugees.

 

Only Laurana remained standing by the window, though there was nothing to see. The guards had apparently grown tired of marching up and down the street and now huddled in doorways, trying to keep warm. Behind her, she could hear Tika and Caramon laugh softly together. Laurana glanced around at them. Talking too quietly to be heard, Caramon appeared to be describing a battle. Tika listened intently, her eyes gleaming with admiration.

 

The young barmaid had received a great deal of practice in fighting on their journey south to find the Hammer of Kharas and, though she would never be truly skilled with a sword, she had developed shield-bashing into an art. She wore her armor casually now. It was still mismatched, but she kept adding to it, scrounging pieces left on battlefields. The sunlight glinted on her chainmail vest, glistened in her red hair. Caramon's face was animated and relaxed as he talked with the young woman. They did not touch-not with the golden ayes of Caramon's twin on them-but they leaned very near each other.

 

Laurana sighed and turned away, feeling very lonely andthinking of Raistlin's wards-very frightened.

 

She heard her sigh echoed, but it was not a sigh of regret. It was a sigh of irritation. Turning slightly, she looked dawn at Raistlin. The mage had closed the spellbook he was trying to read, and moved into the little bit of sunlight that came through the glass. He had to study his spellbook daily. It is the curse of the magi that they must commit their spells to memory time and again, for the words of magic flicker and die like sparks from a fire. Each spell cast saps the mage's strength, leaving him physically weakened until he is finally exhausted and cannot work any magic at all without rest.

 

Raistlin's strength had been growing since the companions' meeting in Solace, as had his power. He had mastered several new spells taught to him by Fizban, the bumbling old magician who had died in Pax Tharkas. As his power grew, so did the misgivings of his companions. No one had any overt cause to mistrust him-indeed, his magic had saved their lives several times. But there was something disquieting about him-secret, silent, self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.

 

Absently caressing the night-blue cover of the strange spellbook he had acquired in Xak Tsaroth, Raistlin stared into the street. His golden eyes with their dark, hourglass-shaped pupils glittered coldly.

 

Although Laurana disliked speaking to the mage, she had to know! What had he meant-along farewell?

 

'What do you see when you look far away like that?" she asked softly, sitting down next to him, feeling a sudden weakness of fear sweep over her.

 

"What do I see?" he repeated softly. There was great pain and sadness in his voice, not the bitterness she was accustomed to hearing. "I see time as it affects all things. Human flesh withers and dies before my eyes. Flowers bloom, only to fade. Trees drop green leaves, never to regain them. In my sight, it is always winter, always night."

 

"And-this was dome to you in the Towers of High Sorcery?" Laurana asked; shocked beyond measure. "Why? To what end?'.

 

Raistlin smiled his rare and twisted smile. "To remind me of my own mortality. To teach me compassion:' His voice sank. "I was proud and arrogant in my youth. The youngest to take the Test, I was going to show them all!" His frail fist clenched. "Oh, I showed them. They shattered my body and devoured my mind until by the end I was capable of-" He stopped abruptly, his eyes shifting to Caramon.

 

"Of what?" Laurana asked, fearing to know, yet fascinated.

"Nothing;' Raistlin whispered, lowering his eyes. "I am forbidden to speak of it:'

 

Laurana saw his hands tremble. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His breath wheezed and he began to cough. Feeling guilty for having inadvertently caused such anguish, she flushed and shank her head, biting her lip. "I-I'm sorry to have given you pain. I didn't mean to:' Confused, she looked dawn, letting her hair fall forward to hide her face-a girlish habit.

 

Raistlin leaned Toward almost unconsciously, his hand stretching out, trembling, to touch the wondrous hair that seemed possessed of a life of its own, so vibrant and luxuriant was it. Then, seeing before his eyes his own dying flesh, he withdrew his hand quickly and sank back in his chair, a bitter smile on his lips. For what Laurana did not know, could not know, was that, in looking at her, Raistlin saw the only beauty he would ever see in his lifetime, Young, by elven standards, she was untouched by death or decay, even in the mage's cursed vision.

 

Laurana saw nothing of this. She was aware only that he moved slightly. She almost got up and left, but she felt drawn to him now, and he still had not answered her question, "I-I meant-can you see the future'! Tanis told me your mother was-what do they call it-prescient? I know that Tanis comes to you for advice. . . :'

 

Raistlin regarded Laurana thoughtfully. "The half-elf comes to me for advice, not because I can see the future. I can't. I am no seer. He comes because I am able to think, which is something most of these other fools seem incapable of doing:"

 

"But-what you said. Same of us may not see each other again:" Laurana looked up at him earnestly. "You must have foreseen something! What-I must know! Was it . . . Tanis?"

 

Raistlin pondered. When he spoke, it was more to himself thorn to Laurana. "I don't know;' he whispered. "I don't even know why I said that. It's just that-for an instant-I knew-" He seemed to struggle to remember, then suddenly shrugged.

 

"Knew what?" Laurana persisted.

 

"Nothing. My overwrought imagination as the knight would say if he were here. So Tanis told you about my mother;" he said, changing the subject abruptly.

 

Laurana, disappointed but hoping to find out more if she kept talking to him, nodded her head. "He said she had the gift of foresight. She could look into the future and see images of what would come to pass:'

 

"That is true," Raistlin whispered, then smiled sardonically. "Much good it did her. The first man she married was a handsome warrior tram the northland. Their passion died within months, and after that they made life miserable for each other. My mother was fragile of health and given to slipping into strange trances from which she might not wake for hours. They were poor, living off what her husband could earn with his sword. Though he was clearly of noble blood, he never spoke of his family. I do not believe he even told her his real name:'

 

Raistlin's eyes narrowed, "He told Kitiara, though. I'm sure of it. That is why she traveled north, to find his family."

 

"Kitiara . .. . " Laurana said in a strained voice. She touched the name .as one touches an aching tooth, eager to understand more of this human woman Tanis loved. "Then, that man-the noble warrior-was Kitiara's father?" she said in a husky voice.

 

Raistlin regarded her with a penetrating gaze. "Yes;' he whispered. "She is my elder half-sister. Older than Caramon and I by about eight years. She is very much like her father, I believe. As beautiful as he was handsome. Resolute and impetuous, warlike, strong and fearless. Her father taught her the only thing he knew-the art of warfare. He began going on longer and Longer trips, and one day vanished completely. My mother convinced the Highseekers to declare him legally dead. She then remarried the man who became our father. He was a simple man, a woodcutter by trade. Once again, her farsight did not serve her:"

 

'"Why" Laurana asked gently, caught up in the story, amazed that the usually taciturn sage was so voluble, not knowing that he was drawing more out of her simply by watching her expressive face than he was giving in return.

 

"The birth of my brother and I for one thing;' Raistlin said.

Then, overcome by a fit of coughing, he stopped talking and motioned to his brother, "Caramon! It is time for my drink;" he said in the hissing, whsiper that pierced through the loudest talk. "Or have you forgotten me in the pleasure of other company?"

Caramon fell silent in mid-laugh ' No, Raist;' he said guiltily, hurriedly rising from his seat to hang a kettle of water over the fire. Tika, subdued, lowered her head, unwilling to meet the mage's gaze.

 

After staring at her a moment" Raistlin turned back to Laurana, who had watched all this with a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. He began to speak again as if there had been no interruption. "My mother never really recovered from the childbirth. The midwife gave me up for dead, and I would have died, too, if it hadn't been for Kitiara. Her first battle, she used to say, was against death with me as the prize. She raised us. My mother was incapable of taking care of children, and my father was forced to work day and night simply to keep us fed. He died in an accident when Caramon and I were in our teens. My mother went into one of her trances that day"-Raistlin's voice dropped-"and never came out. She died of starvation:'

 

"How awful!" Laurana murmured, shivering.

 

Raistlin did not speak for long moments; his strange eyes staring out into the chill, gray winter sky. Then his mouth twisted. "It taught me a valuable lesson-learn to control the power. Never let it control you!"

 

Laurana did not seem to have heard him. Her hands in her lap twisted nervously.. This was the perfect opportunity to ask the questions she longed to ask, but it would mean giving up a part of her inner self to this man she feared and distrusted. But her curiosity-and her love-were ton great. She never realized she was falling into a cunningly baited trap. For Raistlin delighted nn discovering the secrets of people's souls, knowing he might find them useful.

 

"What did you do then^"she asked, swallowing. "Did I Kitiara . . :" Trying to appear natural, she stumbled aver `he name and flushed in embarrassment.

 

Raistlin watched Laurana's inner straggle with interest. "Kitiara was gone by then;" he answered. "She left home when she was fifteen, earning her living by her sword. She is an expert-so Caramon tells me-and hall no trouble finding mercenary work. Ch, she returned every so often, to see how we were getting along. When we were olden, and more skilled" she took us with her. That was where Caramon and a learned to fight together-I using my magic, my brother his sword. Then; after she met Tanis"- Raistlin's eyes glittered at Laurana's discomfiture-"she traveled with us more often:'

 

"Traveled with whom? Where did you go?"

 

"There was Sturm Brightblade, already dreaming of knighthood, the kender, Tanis, Caramon, and I. We traveled with Flint, before he retired from metalsmithing. The roads grew so dangerous that Flint gave up traveling. And, by this time, we had all learned as much as we could from our friends. We were growing restless. It was time to separate, Tanis said:"

 

"And you did as he said? He was your leader, even then?" She looked back to remember him as she had known him before he left Qualinost, beardless and lacking the lines of care and worry she saw now on his face. But even then he was withdrawn and brooding, tormented by his feelings of belonging to lath races-and to neither. She hadn't understood him then. Only now, after living in a world of humans, was she beginning to.

 

"He has the qualities we are told are essential for leadership, He is quick-thinking, intelligent, creative. But most of us possess these-in greater or lesser degree. Why do the others follow Tanis? Sturm is off noble blood, member of an order whose rants go back to ancient times. Why does he obey a bastard half-elf? And Riverwind? He distrusts all who are not human and half who are. Yet he and Goldmoon both would follow Tanis to the Abyss and back. Why?"

 

"I have wondered;" Laurana began, "and I think-'

 

But Raistlin, ignoring her, answered his own question. "'Tanis listens to his feelings. He does, not suppress them, as does the knight, or hide them, as does the Plainsman. Tanis realizes that sometimes a leather must think with leis heart and not his head:" Raistlin glanced at her- "Remember that:"

 

Laurana blinked, confused for a moment, then, sensing a tone of superiority in the mage which irritated her, she said loftily, 'I native you leave out yourself. If you are as intelligent and powerful as you claim, why do you follow Tanis?"

 

Raistlin's hourglass ewes were dark and hooded. He stopped talking as Caramon brought this twin .a cup and carefully poured water from tile kettle. The warrior glanced at Laurana, his face dark, embarrassed and uncomfortable as always whenever his brother went on like this.

 

Raistlin did not seem to notice. Pulling a pouch from his pack, he sprinkled some green leaves into the hot water. A pungent, acrid smell filled the room. "I do not follow him:' The young mage looked up at Laurana. "Far the time being, Tanis and I simply happen to be traveling in the same direction:"

 

"The Knights of Solamnia are not welcome in our city;" the Lord said sternly, his face serious. His dark gaze swept the rest of the company. "Nor are elves, kender, or dwarves, or those who travel in their company. I understand you also have a magic-user with you, one who wears the red robes. You wear armor. Your weapons are blood-stained and come quickly and readily to your hands. Obviously you are skilled warriors:"

 

"Mercenaries, undoubtedly, milord;' the constable said.

 

"We are not mercenaries;' Sturm said, coming to stand before the bench, his bearing proud and noble. "We come out of the northern Plains of Abanasinia. We freed eight hundred men, women, and children from the Dragon Highlord, Verminaard, in Pax Tharkas. Fleeing the wrath of the dragonarmies, we left the people hidden in a valley in the mountains and traveled south, hoping to find ships in the legendary city of Tarsis. We did not know it was landlocked, or we would not have bothered:"

 

The Lard frowned. "You say you came from the north? That is impossible. No one has ever come safely through the mountain kingdom of the dwarves in Thorbardin."

 

"If you know ought of the Knights of Solamnia, you know we would die sooner than tell a lie-even to our enemies;" Sturm said. "We entered the dwarven kingdom and won safe passage by finding and restoring to them the lost Hammer of Kharas:'

 

The Lord shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the draconian who sat behind him. "I do know somewhat of the knights," he said reluctantly. "And therefore I rnust believe your story, though it sounds more a child's bedtime tale than-"

 

Suddenly the doors banged open and two guards strode in, roughly dragging a prisoner between them. They thrust the companions, aside as they flung their prisoner to the floor. The prisoner was a woman. Heavily veiled, she was dressed in long skirts and a heavy cape. She lay for a moment on the floor, as if too tired or defeated to rise. Then, seeming to make a supreme effort of will, she started to push herself up. Obviously no one was going to assist her. The Lord stared at her, his face grim and scowling. The draconian behind him had risen to its feet and was looking down at her with interest. The woman struggled, entangled in her cape and her long, flowing skirts.

 

Then Sturm was at her side.

 

The knight had watched in horror, appalled at this calloustreatment of a woman. He glanced at Tanis, saw the evercautious half-elf shake his head, but the sight of the woman making a gallant effort to rise proved too much for the knight. He took a step forward, and found a hauberk thrust in front of him.

 

"Kill me if you will;' the knight said to the guard, "but, I am going to the aid of the lady:"

 

The guard blinked and stepped back, his eyes looking up at the Lord for orders. The Lord shook his head slightly. Tanis, watching closely, held his breath. Then he thought he saw the Lord smile, quickly covering it with his hand.

 

"My lady, allow me to assist you;' Sturm said with the courtly, old-fashioned politeness long lost in the world. His strong hands gently raised her to her feet.

 

"You had better leave me, sir knight,"' the woman said, her words barely audible from behind her veil. But at the sound of her voice, Tanis. and Gilthanas gasped softly; glancing at each other. "You do not know what you do;" she said. "You risk your life-"

 

'It is my privilege to do so;' Sturm said, bowing. Then he stood near her protectively, his eyes on the guards.

 

"She is Silvanesti elven!" Gilthanas whispered to Tanis. 'Does Sturm know?"

 

"Of course not;" Tanis said softly. "How could he? I barely recognised her accent myself."

 

"What could she be doing here? Silvanesti is far away-"

 

A-" Tanis began, but one of the guards shoved him in the back. He fell silent just as the Lard started to speak.

 

"Lady Alhana;' he said in a cold voice, "you were warned to leave thus city. I was. merciful last time you came before me because you were on a diplomatic mission from your people, and protocol is still honored in Tarsis. I told you then, however, you could expect no help from us and gave you twentyfour hours to depart. Now I find you still here:' He looked over at the guards. "What is the charge?"

 

"Trying to buy mercenaries, milord;' the constable replied. "She was picked up in an inn along the Old Waterfront, milord:' The constable gave Sturm a scathing glance. "It was a good thing she didn't meet up with this lot. Of course, no one in Tarsis would aid an elf:"

 

"Alhana;" Tanis muttered to himself. He edged over to Gilthanas. "Why is that name familiar?"

 

"Have you been gone from your people so long you do not recognize the name?" the elf answered softly in elven. "There was only one among our Silvanesti cousins railed Alhana, Alhana Starbreeze, daughter of the Speaker of the Stars, princess of her people, ruler when her father dies, far she has no brothers:'

 

"Alhana!" Tanis said, memories coming back to him. The elven people were split hundreds of years before, when KithKanan led many of the elves to the land of Qualinesti following the bitter Kinslayer wars. But the elven leaders still kept in contact in the mysterious manner of the elflords who, it is said, can read messages in the wind and speak the language of the silver moon. Now he remembered Alhana-of all elf maidens reputed to be the most beautiful, and distant as the silver moon that shone on her birth.

 

The draconian leaned down to confer with the Lard. Tanis saw the man's face darken, and it seemed as if he was about to disagree, then he bit his lip and, sighing, nodded his head. The draconian melted back into the shadows once more.

 

"You are under arrest, Lady Alhana;" the Lord' said heavily. Sturm took a step nearer the woman as the guards closed in around her. Sturm threw back his head and cast them all a warning glance. So confident and noble did he appear, even unarmed, that the guards hesitated. Still, their Lord had given them an order.

"You better do something;" Flint growled.. "I'm all for chivalry, but there's a time and a place and this isn't either!"

 "Have you got any suggestions?" Tanis snapped.

 Flint didn't answer. There warn"t a damn thing any of them could do and they knew it. Sturm would die; before one of

those guards laid a hand on the woman again, even though he had no idea who this woman was. It didn't matter. Feeling himself torn with frustration and admiration for his friend, Tanis gauged the distance between himself and the nearest guard, knowing he could put at least one out of action. He saw Gilthanas close his eyes, his lips moving. The elf was a magic-user, though he rarely treated it seriously. Seeing the look on Tanis's face, Flint heaved a sigh and turned toward another guard, lowering his helmeted head like a battering ram.

 

Then suddenly the Lard spoke, his voice grating. "Hold, knight!" he said with the authority that had been bred in him for generations. Sturm, recognizing thus, relaxed, and Tanis breathed a sigh of relief. "I will not have blood shed in this Council chamber. The lady has disobeyed a law of the land, laws which, in days gone by, you, sir knight, were sworn to uphold. But, I agree, there is no reason to treat her disrespectfully. Guards, you will escort the lady to prison but with the same courtesy you show me. And you, sir knight, will accompany her, since you are so interested in her welfare:'

 

Tanis nudged Gilthanas who came out of his trance with a start. "Truly, as Sturm said, this Lord comes from a noble and honorable line;' Tanis whispered.

 

"I don't see what you"re so pleased about, Half-elf:" Flint grunted, overhearing them. "First the kender gets us charged with inciting a riot, then he disappears. Now the knight gets us thrown into prison. Next time, remind me to stick with the mage.. I know he's crazed!"'

 

As the guards started to herd their prisoners away from the bench, Alhana appeared to be hunting for something within the falls of her long skirt.

 

"I beg a favor, sir knight;' she said to Sturm. "I seem to have dropped something. A trifle but precious. Could you look-"

 

Sturm knelt swiftly and immediately saw the object where it lay, sparkling, on the floor, hidden by the folds of her dress. It was a pin, shaped like a star, glittering with diamonds. He drew in his breath. A trifle! Its value must be incalculable. No wonder she did not want it found by these worthless guards. Quickly he wrapped his. fingers around it, then feigned to look about. Finally, still kneeling, he looked up at the woman.

 

Sturm caught his breath as the woman removed the hood of her cloak and drew the veil from her face. For the first time,human eyes looked upon the face of Alhana Starbreeze.

 

Muralasa, the elves called her-Princess of the Night. Her hair, black and soft as the night wind, was held in place by a net as fine as cobweb, twinkling with tiny jewels like stars. Her skin was the pale hue of the silver moon, her eyes the deep, dark purple of the night sky and her lips the color of the red moon's shadows.

 

The knight's first thought was to give thanks to Paladine that he was already on his knees. His second was that death would be a paltry price to pay to serve her, and his third that he musk say something, but he seemed to have forgotten the words of any known language.

 

"Thank you for searching, noble knight;" Alhana said softly, staring intently into Sturm's eyes. "As I said, it was a trifle. Please rise. I am very weary and, since it seems we are going to the same place, you could do me a great favor by giving me your assistance:'

 

"I am yours to command," Sturm said fervently, and he rose to his feet, swiftly tucking the jewel inside his belt. He held out his arm, and Alhana put her slender, white band on his forearm. His arm trembled at her touch.

 

It seemed to the knight .as if a cloud had covered the light of the stars when she veiled her face again. Sturm saw Tanis fall into line behind them, but so enraptured was the knight with the beautiful face burning in his memory that he stared straight at the half-elf without a flicker of recognition.

 

Tanis had seen Alhana's face and felt his own heart stir with her beauty. But he had seen Sturm's face as well. He had seen that beauty enter the knight's heart, doing more damage than a goblin's poisoned arrowtip. For this love must turn to poison, he knew. The Silvanesti were a proud and haughty race. Fearing contamination and the lass of their way of life, they refused to have even the slightest contact with humans. Thus the Kinslayer wars had been fought.

 

No, thought Tanis sadly; the silver moon itself was riot higher or farther out of Sturm's reach. The half -elf sighed. This was all they needed.

 

 

Chapter 6

Knights of Solamnia.

Tasslehoffs glasses of true seeing.

 

As the guards led the prisoners from the F-loll of justice they passed two figures standing outside in [he-shadows Both were so swathed in clothing it was difficult `.a tell to what race they belonged- Hoods covered their heads. their faces were wrapped in cloth. Long robes shrouded their bodies. Even their hands were wrapped in strips of white,

like bandages. They spoke together in low tones.

 

`See!" one said in great excitement. "'-there they are. They match the descriptions:

 

"Not all of them," said the other dubiously.

But the half-elf, the dwarf, the knight! I tell you, it is them! And I know where the others are;" the figure added smugly. "I questioned one of the guards:"

 

The other, taller figure considered, watching the group being led off down the street. "You are right. We should report this to the Highlord at once." The shrouded figure turned, then stopped as it saw the other hesitate. "What are you waiting for?"

 

"But shouldn't one of us follow? Look at those puny guards. You know the prisoners will try and escape."

 

The other laughed unpleasantly. "Of course they'll escape. And we know where they'll go-to rejoin their friends:" The shrouded figure squinted up at the afternoon sun. "Besides, in a few hours it won't make any difference:" The tall figure strode away, the shorter hurrying after.

 

It was snowing when the companions left the Hall of Justice. This time, the constable knew better than to march his prisoners through the main city streets. He led them into a dark and gloomy alleyway that ran behind the Hall of Justice.

 

Tanis and Sturm were just exchanging glances, and Gilthanas and Flint were just tensing to attack when the half-elf saw the shadows in the alley begin to moue. Three hooded and cloaked figures leaped out in front of the guards, their steel blades gleaming in the bright sunlight.

 

The constable put his whistle to his lips, but he never made a sound. One of the figures knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his sword, while the other two rushed the guards, who immediately fled. The hooded figures faced the companions.

 

"Who are you?" Tanis asked, astounded at his sudden freedom. The hooded and cloaked figures reminded him of the hooded draconians they had fought outside of Solace. Sturm pulled Alhana behind him.

 

"Have we escaped one danger only to find a worse?" Tanis demanded. "Unmask yourselves["'

 

But one of the hooded men turned to Sturm, his hands raised in the air. "Oth Tsarthon a Paran;' he said.

 

Sturm gasped. "Est Tsarthai en Paranaith" he replied, then he turned to Tanis. "Knights of Solamnia;' he said, gesturing at the three men.

 

"Knights?" Tanis asked in astonishment. "Why-"

 

"There is no time for explanation, Sturm Brightblade;" one of the knights said in Common, his accent thick. "The guards will return soon. Come with us:'

 

"Not so fast!" Flint growled, his feet planted firmly in the street, his hands breaking off the handle of a hauberk so that it suited his short stature. "You'll find time for explanations or I'm not going! How'd you know the knight's name and how came you to be waiting for us

 

"Oh, just run him through!" sang a shrill voice out of the shadows. "Leave his body to feed the crows. Not that they'll bother; there's few in this world who can stomach dwarf-"

 

"Satisfied?" Tanis turned to Flint, who was red-faced with rage.

 

"Someday," vowed the dwarf, "I'll kill that kender:'

 

Whistles sounded from the street behind them. With no more hesitation, the companions followed the knights through twisting, rat-infested alleys. Saying he had business to attend to, Tas disappeared before Tanis could catch hold of him. The half-elf noticed that the knights didn't seem at all surprised by this, nor did they try to stop Tas. They refused, however, to answer any questions, just kept hurrying the group along until they entered the ruins-the old city of Tarsus the Beautiful.

 

Here the knights stopped. They had brought the companions to a part of the city where no one ever came now. The streets were broken and empty, reminding Tanis strongly of the ancient city of Xak Tsaroth. Taking Sturm by the arm, the knights led him a short distance from his friends and began to confer in Solamnic, leaving the others to rest.

 

Tanis, leaning against a building, looked around with interest. What remained standing of the buildings on this street was impressive, much more beautiful than the modern city. He saw that Tarsis the Beautiful must have deserved its name before the Cataclysm. Now nothing but huge blocks of granite lay tumbled about. Vast courtyards were choked and overgrown with weeds turned brown by the biting winter wands.

 

He walked over to sit down on a bench with Gilthanas, who was talking to Alhana. The elfford introduced him.

 

".Alhana ;Starbreeze, Tanis Half-Elven;" Gilthanas said. "Tanis lived among the Qualinesti for many years. He is the son of my uncle's wife:'

 

Alhana drew back the veil from her face and regarded Tanis coldly. Son of my uncle's wife, was a polite way of saying Tanis was illegitimate, otherwise Gilthanas world have introduced him as the "son of my uncle:'The half-elf flushed, the old pain returning forcibly, hurting as much now as it had fifty years before. He wondered if he would ever be free of it.

 

Scratching his beard, Tanis said harshly, "My mother was raped by human warriors during years of darkness following the Cataclysm. The Speaker kindly took me in following her death and raised me as his own."

 

Alhana's dark eyes grew darker until they were pools of night. She raised her eyebrows. "Do you see a need to apologize for your heritage?" she asked in a chill voice.

 

"N-no . . :" Tanis stammered, his face burning. "I-'

 

"Then do not;' she said, and she turned away from him to Gilthanas. "You asked why I came to Tarsis'! I came seeking aid. I must return to Silvanesti to search far my father:'

 

"Return to Silvanesti?" Gilthanas repeated. "We-my people did not know the Silvanesti elves had left their ancient homeland. No wonder we lost contact-"

 

"Yes;" Alhana's voice grew sad. "The evil that forced you, our cousins, to leave Qualinesti came to us as. well." She bowed her head, then looked up, her own voice soft and low. "Long we fought this evil. But in the end ewe were forced to flee or perish utterly. My father sent the people, under my leadership, to Southern Ergoth. He stayed in Silvanesti to fight the evil alone. I opposed this decision, but he said he had the power to prevent the evil from destroying our homeland With a heavy heart., l led my people to safety and there they remain. But I came back to seek my father, for the days have been long and we have heard no word of him:"

 

"But had you no warriors, lady, to accompany you on such .a dangerous journey?" Tanis asked.

 

Alhana, turning, glanced at Tanis as if amazed that he had intruded upon their conversation. At first she seemed .about to refuse to answer him, then-looking -longer at his face-she changed her mind. "There were many warriors who offered to escort me," she said proudly. "But when I said I led my people to safety, I spoke rashly. Safety no longer exists in this world. The warriors stayed behind to guard the people. I came to Tarsis hoping to find warriors to travel into Silvanesti with me. I presented myself to the Lord and the Council, as protocol demands-"

 

Tanis shook his head, frowning darkly. "That was stupid;' he said bluntly. "You should have known how they feel about elves-even before the draconians came! You were damn lucky they only ordered you tossed out of the city."

 

Alhana's pale face became-if possible-paler. Her dark eyes glittered. "I did as protocol demands;" she replied, too well bred to show her anger beyond the cool tones of her voice. "To do otherwise would have been to come as a barbarian. When the Lord refused to aid me, I told him I intended to seek help on my own. To do less would have not been honorable:"

 

Flint, who had been able to follow only bits and pieces of the conversation in elven, nudged Tanis. "She and the knight will get on perfectly:" He snorted. "Unless their honor gets them killed first:' Before Tanis could reply, Sturm rejoined the group.

 

"Tanis;' Sturm said in excitement, "the knights have found the ancient library! That's why they're here. They discovered records in Palantllas saying that in ancient times knowledge of dragons was kept in the library here, at Tarsis. The Knights Council sent them to see if the library still survived."

 

Sturm gestured far the knights to come forward. "This is Brian Dormer, Knight of the Sword:' he said, "Aran Tallbow, Knight of the Crown, and Derek Crownguard, Knight of the Rose:" The knights bowed.

 

"And this is Tanis Half -Elven, our leader;" Sturm said. The half-elf saw Alhana start and look at him in wonder, glancing at Sturm to see if she had heard correctly.

 

Sturm introduced Gilthanas and Flint, then he turned to Alhana. "Lady Alhana." he begin, then stopped, embarrassed, realizing he knew nothing :note about her.

 

''Alhana Starbreeze," Gilthanas finished. "'Daughter of the Speaker of the Stars. Princess of the Silvanesti elves:'

 

The knights bowed again, lower this time.

 

"Accept my heartfelt gratitude foe rescuing me;" Alhana said coolly Her gaze encompassed! all the group but lingered longest an Sturm. Then she turned to Derek whom she knew from his Order of the Rose to be the leaden. "Have you discovered the records the Council sent you to find?"

 

As she spoke, Tanis examined the knights, now unhooded, with interest. He, too, knew enough to know that the Knights Council-the ruling body of the Solamnic knights-had sent the best. In particular he studied Derek, the elder and the highest in rank. Few knights attained the Order of the Rose. The tests were dangerous and difficult, and only knights of pure bloodline could belong.

 

"We have found a book, my lady," Derek said, "written in an ancient language we could not understand. There were pictures of dragons, however, so we were planning to copy it and return to Sancrist where, we hoped, scholars would be able to translate it. But instead we have found one who can read it. The kender-"

 

"Tasslehoff!" Flint exploded.

 

Tanis's mouth gaped open. "Tasslehoff?" he repeated incredulously. "He can barely read Common. He doesn't know any ancient languages. The only one among us who might possibly be able to translate an ancient language is Raistlin"

 

Derek shrugged. "The kender has a pair of glasses he says are 'magical glasses of true seeing: I-Ie put them on and he has been able to read the bank. It says-"

 

I can imagine what it says" Tanis snapped. "Stories about automatons and magic rings of teleporting and plants that live off air. Where is he? I'm going to, have a little talk with Tasslehoff Burrfoot:'

 

"Magical glasses .of trine seeing;" Flint grumbled. "And I'm a gully dwarf!"

 

The companions entered a shattered building. Clumping aver rubble, they followed Derek's lead through. a law archway. The smell of must and mildew was strong. 'The -darkness was intense after the brightness of the afternoon sun outside and for a moment, everyone was blinded. Them Derek lit a torch, and they saw narrow. winding stairs leading down into more darkness.

 

"The library was built below ground," Derek explained. "Probably the only reason it survived the Cataclysm so well :'

 

The companions descended. the, stairs rapidly and soon found themselves inside a huge. room. Tanis, caught his breath and even Alhana's eyes widened in the. flickering torchlight.

 

The gigantic room was filled from ceiling to floor with tall, wooden shelves, stretching as far as the eye could see. On the shelves were books. Books of all kinds. Soaks with leather bindings, books bound in wood, books bound in what looked like leaves from some exotic tree. Many were not bound at all but were simply sheaves of parchment, held together with black ribbons. Several shelves had toppled over, spilling the books to the floor until it was ankle-deep in parchment.

 

"There must be thousands!" Tanis said in awe. "How did you ever find one among theses'"

 

Derek shook his head. ''It was not easy," he said. "Long days we have spent down here, searching. When we discovered it at last, we felt more despair than triumph, far it was obvious that the book cannot be moved. Even as we touched) the pages, they crumbled to dust. We feared we would spend long, weary hours copying it. But the kender-"

 

"Right, the kender," Tani; said grimly. "Where is he?"

 

"Over here!" piped a shrill voice.

 

Tanis peered through the dimly lit room to see a candle burning on a table. Tasslehoff, seated an a high. wooden chair, was bent over a thick book. As the -companions neared him, they could see a pair of small glasses perched am his nose.

 

"All right, Tas," Tanis said. "Where did you get them?"

 

"Get what?" the kender asked innocently. He saw Tanis's eyes narrow and put his hand to the small wire-rimmed glasses. "Oh, uh, these? I had them in a pouch . . . and, well, if you must know, I found them in the dwarven kingdom-"

 

Flint ,groaned and) put his hand ewer this face.

 

"They were just lying on a table)` Tas pro tested, seeing Tanis scowl. "Honest! There was no .one .around. l thought perhaps someone misplaced them:. I any took them for safekeeping. Good thing, too. Some thief might have come along and stolen them, and they're very valuable! I meant to return them, but after that we were so busy what with fighting dark dwarves and draconians and finding the Hammer, and I-sort of I had them. When L remembered them,. we were miles away from the dwarves .an ,our way to Tarsis, and I didn't think you'd want me to go back., just to return. them, so-'

 

"What do they do?" Tanis interrupted the kender knowing they'd be here until the day after tomorrow if he didn't.

"They're wonderful;" Tas said hastily, relieved that Tanis wasn't going to yell at him. "I left them lying on a map one day:" Tas patted his mapcase. "I looked down and what do you suppose? I could read the writing on the map through the glasses! Now, that doesn't sound very wonderful;" Tas said hurriedly, seeing Tanis start to frown again, "but this was a map written in a language I'd never been able to understand before. So I tried them on all my maps and I could read them, Tanis! Every one! Even the real, real old ones!"

 

"And you never mentioned this to us?" Sturm glared at Tas.

 

"Well, the subject just never came up;' Tas said apologetically. "Now, if you had asked me directly-'TasslehoFf, do you have a pair of magical seeing glasses?'-I would have told you the truth straight off. But you never did, Sturm Brightblade, so don't look at me like that. Anyway, I can read this old book. Let me tell you what I-"

 

"How do you know they're magic and not just some mechanical device of the dwarves?" Tanis asked, sensing that Tas was hiding something.

 

Tas gulped. He had been hoping Tanis wouldn't ask him that question.

 

"Uh;" Tas stammered, "I-I guess I did sort of, !happened to, uh, mention them to Raistlin one night when you were all busy doing something else. He told me they might be magic. To find out, he said one of those weird spells of his and they - uh - to glow. That meant they Were enchanted. He asked me what they did and I demonstrated and he said they were 'glasses of true seeing: The dwarves magic-users of old made them to read books written in other languages and-" Tas stopped.

 

"And?" Tanis pursued.

 

"And-uh-magic spellbooks:" Tas's voice mss a whisper.

 

"And what else did Raistlin say?"

 

"That if I touched his spellbooks or even looked at them sideways, he'd turn me into a cricket and s-swallow m-me whale;' Tasslehoff stammered. He looked up at Tanis with wide eyes. "'I believed him; too:'

 

Tanis shook his head. Trust Raistlin to come up with a threat awful enough to quench the curiosity of a kender. "Anything else:` he asked.

 

"No, Tanis," Tas said innocently. Actually Raistlin had mentioned something else about the glasses, but Tas hadn't been able to understand it very well. Something about the glasses seeing things too truly, which didn't make any sense, so he figured it probably wasn't worth bringing up. Besides, Tanis was mad enough already.

 

"Well, what have you discovered?" Tanis asked grudgingly.

 

"Oh, Tanis, it's so interesting!" Tas said, thankful the ordeal was over. He carefully turned a page and, even as he did so, it split and cracked beneath his small fingers. He shook his head sadly. "That happens almost every time. But, you can see here"-the others leaned around to stare beneath the kender's finger-"pictures of dragons. Blue dragons, red dragons, black dragons, green dragons. I didn't know there were so many. Now, see this thing?" He turned another page. "Oops. Well, you can't see it now, but it was a huge ball of glass. And-so the book says-if you have one of these glass balls, you can gain control aver the dragons and they'll do what you say!"

 

"Glass ball!" Flint sniffed, then sneezed. "Don't believe him, Tanis. I think the only thing those glasses have done is magnify his tall stories:'

 

"I am so telling the truth!" Tas said indignantly. 'They're called dragon orbs, and you can ask Raistlin about them! He must know because'., according to this, they wore made by the great wizards, long ago:'

 

"I believe you;" Tanis said gravely, seeing that Tasslehoff was really upset. "But I'm afraid it wan"t do us much good. They were probably all destroyed in the Cataclysm and we wouldn't know where to look anyway-"

 

"Yes, we do," Tas said excitedly. "There's a list here, of where they were kept. See--'He stopped, cocking his head. "Shhhh:' he said, listening. The others fell silent For a moment they heard nothing, then their ears caught what the mender's quicker hearing had already detected.

 

Tanis felt his hands. grow cold; the dry, bitter taste of fear filled his mouth. Now he could hear, in the distance, the sound of hundreds of hams braying - horns all of them had heard before. The bellowing, brass horns that heralded the approach of the draconian armies-and the approach of the dragons.

 

The horns of death.

 

Chapter 7

`-not destined to meet again in this world."

 

The companions had just reached the marketplace when the first flight of dragons struck Tarsis.

The group had separated from the knights, riot a pleasant parting. The knights had tried to convince them to escape with them into the hills. When the companions refused, Derek. demanded that Tasslehoff accompany them, since the kender alone knew the location of the dragon orbs. Tanis knew Tas would only run away from the knights and ,vas forced to refuse again.

 

"Bring the kender, Sturm, and come with us;' Derek commanded, ignoring Tanis.

 

"I cannot, sir;" Sturm replied, laying his hand on Tanis's arm. "He is my leader, and my first loyalty is to my friends:'

 

Derek's voice was cold with anger. "If that is your decision;" he answered, "I cannot stop you. But this is a black mark against you, Sturm Brightblade. Remember that you are not a knight. Not yet. Pray that I am not there when the question of your knighthood comes before the Council:'

 

Sturm became as pale as death. He cast a sideways glance at Tanis, who tried to hide his astonishment at this startling news. But there was no time to think about it. The sound of the horns, screaming discordantly on the chill air, was coming closer and closer each second. The knights and the companions parted; the knights heading for their camp in the hills, the companions returning to town.

 

They found the townspeople outside their houses, speculating on the strange horn calls, which they had never heard before and did not understand. One Tarsian alone heard and understood. The Lord in the council chamber rose to his feet at the sound. Whirling, Ire turned upon the smug-looking draconian seated in the shadows behind him.

 

"You said we would be spared!" the Lord said through clenched teeth. "We're still negotiating-"

 

"The Dragon Highlord grew weary of negotiation;" the draconian said, stifling a yawn. "And the city will be spared-after it has been taught a lesson, of course:"

 

The Lord's head sank into his hands. The other council members, not fully comprehending what was happening, stared at each other in horrified awareness as they saw tears trickle through the Lord's fingers.

 

Outside, the red dragons were visible in the skies, hundreds of them. Flying in regimented groups of three to five, their wings glistened flame red in the setting sun. The people of Tarsis knew one thing and one thing only: death flew overhead.

 

As the dragons swooped low, making their first passes over the town, the dragonfear flowed from them, spreading panic more deadly than fire. The people had one thought in their minds as the shadows of the wings blotted out the dying light of day-escape.

But there was no escape.

 

After the first pass, knowing now that they would meet no resistance, the dragons struck. One after the other, they circled, then dropped from the sky like red-hot shot, their fiery breath engulfing building after building with flame. The spreading fires created their own windstorms. Choking smoke filled the street, turning twilight into midnight. Ash poured down like black rain. Screams of terror changed to screams of agony as people died in the blazing abyss that was Tarsis.

 

And as the dragons struck, a sea of fear-crazed humanity surged through the flame-lit streets. Few had any clear idea of where they were going. Some shouted they would be safe in the hills, others ran down by the old waterfront, still others tried to reach the city gates. Above them flew the dragons, burning at their discretion, killing at their leisure.

 

The human sea broke over Tanis and the companions, crushing them into the street, swirling them apart, smashing them up against buildings. The smoke choked them and stung their eyes, tears blinded them as they fought to control the dragonfear that threatened to destroy their reason.

 

The heat was so intense that whole buildings blew apart. Tanis caught Gilthanas as the elf was hurled into the side of a building. Holding onto him, the half-elf could only watch helplessly as the rest of his friends were swept away by the mob.

 

"Back to the Inn!" Tanis shouted. "Meet at the Inn!" But whether they heard him or not, he could not say. He could only trust that they would all try to head in that direction.

 

Sturm caught hold of Alhana in his strong arms, halfcarrying, half-dragging her through the death-filled streets. Peering through the ash, he tried to see the others, but it was hopeless. And then began the most desperate battle he had ever fought, striving to keep his feet and support Alhana as time and again the dreadful waves of humanity broke over them.

 

Then Alhana was ripped from his arms by the shrieking mob, whose booted feet trampled all that lived. Sturm flung himself into the crowd, shoving and bashing with his armored arms and body, and caught Alhana's wrists. Deathly pale, she was shaking with fright. She hung onto his hands with all her strength, and finally he was able to pull her close. A shadow swept over them. A dragon, screaming cruelly, bore down upon the street that heaved and surged with men, women, and children. Sturm ducked into a doorway; dragging Alhana with him, and shielded her with leis body as the dragon swooped low overhead. Flame filled the street; the screams of the dying were heart-rending.

 

"Don't look!" Sturm whispered to Alhana, pressing her against him, tears streaming dawn his own face. The dragon passed, and suddenly the streets were horrible, unbearably still. Nothing moved.

 

"Let's go, while we can;" Sturm said, his voice shaking. Clinging to each other, the two stumbled out of the doorway, their senses numbed, moving only by instinct. Finally^, sickened and dizzy from the smell of charred flesh and snake, they were forced to seek shelter in another doorway.

 

For a moment, they could do nothing but hold onto -each other, thankful for the brief respite, yet haunted by the knowledge that in seconds they must return to the deadly streets.

 

Alhana rested her head against Sturm's chest. The .ancient, old-fashioned armor felt coal against her shin. Its hard metal surface was reassuring, and beneath it she could feel his heart beat, rapid, steady, and soothing, The arms that held her were strong, hard, well-muscled. His hand stroked her black hair.

 

Alhana, chaste maiden of a stern and rigid people, had. long known when, where, and whom she would marry. He was an elflord, and it was a mark of their understanding Chat-in all the years since this had been arranged-they had never touched. He had stayed behind ,%ith the people, while Alhana returned to find her father. She had strayed. into this world of humans, and her senses reeled :from the shock. She detested them, yet was fascinated by them. They were se, powerful, their emotions raw and untamed .end just when she thought she would hate and despise them.. forever. ,one stepped apart from the others.

 

Alhana looked up into Sturm's grieved face and saw etched there pride, nobility, strict inflexible discipline constant striving for perfection-perfection unattainable. And thus the deep sorrow in his eyes. Alhana felt herself drain.^m to this man -- this human. Yielding to his strength, comforted by his presence, she felt a sweet, searing warmth. Steal ,over her, and suddenly she realized she was in more danger E rum this fine than from the fire of a thousand dragons.

 

"We better go;' Sturm whispered gently, but to his amazement Alhana pushed herself away from him.

 

"Here we part;" she said, her voice cold as the night wind. "I must return to my lodging. Thank you for escorting me:"

 

"What?" Sturm said. "Go by yourself? That's madness:' He reached out and gripped her arm. "I cannot allow-" The wrong thing to do, he realized, feeling her stiffen. She did not move but simply stared at him imperiously until he released her.

 

"I have friends of my own;" she said, "as you do. Your loyalty is to them. My loyalty is to mine. We must go our separate ways:" Her voice faltered at the look of intense pain on Sturm's face, still wet with tears. For a moment Alhana could not bear it and wondered if she would have the strength to continue. Then she thought of her people-depending on her. She found the strength. "I thank you for your kindness and your help, but now I must go, while the streets are empty:'

 

Sturm stared at her, hurt and puzzled. Then his face hardened. "I was happy to be of service, Lady Alhana. But you are still in danger. Allow me to take you to your lodgings, then I will trouble you no more:"

 

"That is quite impossible;" Alhana said, gritting her teeth to keep her jaw set firmly. "My lodgings are not far, and my friends wait for me. We have a way out of the city. Forgive me far not taking you, but I am never certain about trusting humans:'

 

Sturm's brown eyes flashed- Alhana, standing close, could feel his body tremble. Once more she nearly lost her resolve.

 

"I know where you are staying," she said, swallowing. "'The Red Dragon Inn. Perhaps-if I find my friends-we could offer you help-"

 

"Do not concern yourself:" Sturm's voice echoed her coldness. "And do not thank me. I did nothing more than my Code required of me. Farewell;' he said, and started to walk away.

 

Then, rernemlaering,. he turned back. Drawing the sparkling diamond pin from his belt, he placed it in Alhana's hand. "Here;" he said. Looking into her dark eyes, the suddenly saw the pain she tried to hide. His voice softened, though he could not understand. "'I am pleased you trusted me with this gem," he said gently, "even for a few moments:'

 

The elfmaid stared at the jewel for an instant, then she began to shake. Her eyes lifted to Sturm's eyes and she saw in them not scorn, as she expected, but compassion. Once more, she wondered at humans. Alhana dropped her head, unable to meet his gaze, and took his hand in hers. Then she laid the jewel in has palm and closed his fingers over it.

 

"Keep this;' she said softly. "When you look at it, think of Alhana Starbreeze and know that, somewhere, she thinks of you:'

 

Sudden tears flooded the knight's eyes. He bowed his head, unable to speak. Then, kissing the gem, he placed it carefully back into his belt and he reached out his hands, but Alhana drew back into the doorway, her pale face averted.

 

"Please go;" she said. Sturm stood for a moment, irresolute, but he could not-in honor-refuse to obey her request. The knight turned and plunged back into the nightmarish street.

 

Alhana watched him from the doorway for a moment, a protective shell hardening around her. "Forgive me, Sturm;" she whispered to herself. Then she stopped. "No, do not forgive me;" she said harshly. "Thank me:"

 

Closing her eyes, she conjured up an image in her mind and sent a message speeding to the outskirts of the city where her friends waited to carry her from this world of humans.. Receiving their telepathic answer in reply Alhana sighed and began anxiously to scan the smoke-tilled skies, waiting.

 

"Ah;" said Raistlin calmly as the first horn calls shattered the stillness of the afternoon, "I told you so :'

 

River-wind cast an irritated glance ax the mope, even as he tried to think what to do. It was all very well for Tanis to say protect the group from the town guards, but to protect them from armies of draconians, rom dragons! River-wind's dark eyes went aver the group. Tika rose to her feet, her hand on her sword. The young girl was brave and stead}", but unskilled. The Plainsman could still see the scars on her hand where she had cut herself.

 

"What is it?" Elistan asked, looking bewildered.

 

"The Dragon Highlord, attacking the city," Riverwind answered harshly, trying to think.

He heard a clanking sound. Caramon was getting up, the big warrior appearing calm and unperturbed. Thank goodness for that. Even though Riverwind detested Raistlin, he had to admit that the mage and his warrior brother combined steel and magic effectively. Laurana, too, he saw, appeared cool and resolute, but then she was an elf-Riverwind had never really learned to trust elves.

 

"Get out of the city, if we don't return;' Tanis had told him. But Tanis hadn't foreseen this! They would get out of the city only to meet the armies of the Dragon Highlords on the Plains. Riverwind now had an excellent idea who had been watching them as they traveled to this doomed place. He swore to himself in his own language, then-even as the first dragons swept down over the city-he felt Goldmoon's arm around him. Looking down, he saw her smile-the smile of Chieftain's Daughter-and he saw the faith in her eyes. Faith in the gads, and faith in him. He relaxed, his brief moment of panic gone.

 

A shock wave hit the building. They could hear the screams in the streets below, the roaring whoosh of the fires.

 

"We've got to get off this floor., back to ground level," Riverwind said. "Caramon, bring the knight's sword and the other weapons. If Tanis and the others are-" he stepped. He had been about to say, "still alive;' then saw Laurana's Face. "if Tanis and the others escape, they'll return here. Well wait for them:'

 

"Excellent decision!" hissed the mage caustically.. "Especially as we have nowhere else to go!'"

 

Riverwind ignored him. "Elistan take the others downstairs. Caramon and Raistlin, stay with -me a moment" After they were gone, he said swiftly^, "Our best chance, the way I see it, is to stay inside, barricade ourselves in the Inn. The streets will be deadly:"

 

"How long do you think we can bald cut?" Caramon asked.

 

Riverwind shook his head. "Hours, maybe;" he said briefly

 

The brothers looked at him, each -of them thinking about the tortured bodies they had seer in the village of Que- hu, ref what they had heard about the destruction of Solace.

 

"We cannot be taken alive;' Raistlin whispered.

 

Riverwind took a deep breath. We'll hold out as long as we can;' he said, his voice shaking slightly "but when we know we can last no longer-" He stopped, unable to continue, his hand on his knife, thinking of what he must do.

 

"There will be no need for that;' Raistlin said softly. "I have herbs. A tiny bit in a glass of wine. Very quick, painless:"

 

"Are you certain?" Riverwind asked.

 

"Trust me;' Raistlin replied. "I am skilled in the art. The art of herb lore;' he amended smoothly; seeing the Plainsman shudder.

 

"If I am alive;' Riverwind said softly, "I will give herthem-the drink myself. If not-'

 

"I understand. You may trust me;' the mage repeated.

 

"What about Laurana?" Caramon asked. "You know elves. She won't-"

 

"Leave it to me;" Raistlin repeated softly.

 

The Plainsman stared at the mage, feeling horror creep over him. Raistlin stood before him coolly, his arms folded in the sleeves of his robe, his hood pulled up aver his head. Riverwind looked at his dagger, considering the alternative. No, he couldn't do it. Not that way.

 

"Very well;" he said, swallowing. He paused, dreading to go downstairs and face the others. But the sounds of death in the street were growing louder. Riverwind turned abruptly and left the brothers alone.

 

"I will die fighting;' Caramon said to Raistlin, trying to speak in a matter-of-fact tone. After the first few words, though, the big warrior's voice broke. "Promise me, Raist, you'll take this stuff if I'm . . . not there. . . ."

 

"There will be no need;' Raistlin said simply. "I have not the strength to survive a battle of this magnitude. I will die within my magic:

 

Tanis and Gilthanasfought their way through the crowd, the stranger half-eIT holding onto the elf as they shoved and clawed and pushed through the panicked masses. Time and again, they ducked for she'-ter from the dragons.. Gilthanas wrenched his knee, fell into a doorway, and was (arced to limp in agony, leaning on Tanks shoulder.

 

The half-elf breathed .a prayer of thankfulness when he saw the Red Dragon Inn, a prayer that changed to a curse when he saw the black reptilian. forms surging around the front. Hedragged Gilthanas, who had been stumbling along blindly, exhausted by pain, back into a recessed doorway.

 

"Gilthanas!" Tanis shouted. "The Inn'. It's under attack!"

 

Gilthanas raised glassy eyes and stared uncomprehendingly. Then, apparently understanding, he sighed and shook his head. "Laurana," he gasped, and he pushed himself forward, trying to stagger out of the doorway. "We've got to reach them :" He collapsed in Tanis's arms.

 

"Stay here," the half-elf said, helping him sit down. "You're not capable of moving. I'll try and get through. I'll go around the block and come in from the back:'

 

Tanis ran forward, darting in and out of doorways, hiding in the wreckage. He was about a block from the Inn where he heard a hoarse shout. Turning to look, lee saw Flint gesturing wildly. Tanis dashed across the street.

 

"What is it?" he asked. "Why aren't you with the others-" The half-elf stopped. "Oh, no;" he whispered.

 

The dwarf, his face smudged with ash and streaked with tears, knelt beside Tasslehoff. The kender was pinned beneath a beam that had fallen in the street. Tas's face, looking like the face of a wise child, was ashen, his skin clammy.

 

-Blasted, rattle-brained kender;' Flint moaned. "Had to go and let a house fall on him:' The dwarf's hands were torn and bleeding from trying to lift a beam that would take three men or one Caramon to get off the kender. Tanis put his hand to Tas's neck. The lifebeat was very weak.

 

"Stay with him!" Tanis said unnecessarily. "I'm going to the Inn. I'll bring Caramon!"

 

Flint looked up at him grimly, then glanced over at the Inn. Both could hear the yells of the draconians, see their weapons flash in the glare of tile firelight. Occasionally an unnatural light flared from the Inn-Raistlin's magic. The dwarf shook his head. He knew Tanis was about as capable of returning with Caramon as he was of flying.

 

But Flint managed to smile. "Sure, lad, I'll stay with him. Farewell, 'Tanis:'

 

Tanis swallowed, dried to answer, then gave up and ran an down the street.

 

Raistlin, coughing until he could barely stand, wiped blood from his lips and drew a small, black leather pouch from the innermost packets of his robes. He had just one spell left and barely energy enough to cast it. Now, his hands shaking with fatigue, he tried to scatter the contents of the little pouch into a pitcher of wine he had ordered Caramon to bring him before the battle started. BILL his hand trembled violently, and his coughing spasms doubled him over.

 

Then he felt another hand grasp leis own. Looking up, he saw Laurana. She took the pouch from his frail fingers. Her own hand was stained with the dark green draconian blood.

 

'What's this?" she asked.

 

"Ingredients for a spell:" The mage choked. "Pour it into the wine:'

 

Laurana nodded and poured in the mixture as instructed. It vanished instantly.

 

"Don't drink it;' the mage warned when the coughing spasm passed.

 

Laurana looked at him. "What is it?"

 

"A sleeping potion;' Raistlin whispered, his eyes glittering.

 

Laurana smiled wryly. "You don't think we're going to be able to get to sleep tonight?"

 

"Not that kind;" Raistlin answered, staring at her intently. "This one feigns death. The heartbeat slows to almost nothing, the breathing nearly stops, the skin grows cold and pale, the limbs stiffen:"

 

Laurana's eyes. opened wide. "Why-" she began.

 

"To be used as a last resort. The enemy thinks you are dead, leaves you on the field-if you are lucky. If not-"

 

"If not?" she prompted, her face pale.

 

"Well, a few have been known to waken on their own funeral pyres;" Raistlin said coolly. "I don't believe that is likely to happen to us, however:"

 

Breathing more easily, he sat down, ducking involuntarily as a spent arrow .fluttered overhead and fell to the floor behind him. He saw Laurana's hand tremble then and realized she was not as calm as she was (arcing herself to appear.

 

"Are you intending that we take this?" sere asked.

 

"It will save us from being tortured by draconians."

 

"Haw do you know that?"

 

"Trust me;' the mage said with a slight smile.

 Laurana glanced at him and shivered. Absently, she wiped blood-stained fingers on her leather armor. The blood did not come off, but she didn't notice. An arrow thudded next to her. She didn't even start, just stared at it dully.

 

Caramon appeared, stumbling out of the smoke of the burning common room. He was bleeding from an arrow wound in the shoulder, his own red blood mingling oddly with the green blood of his enemy.

 

"They're breaking down the front door;" he said, breathing heavily. "Riverwind ordered us back here:"

 

"Listen!" Raistlin warned. "That's not the only place they"re breaking in!" There was a splintering crash at the door Leading from the kitchen to the back alley.

 

Ready to defend themselves, Caramon and Laurana whirled gust as the door shattered. A tall, dark figure entered.

 

"Tanis!" Laurana cried. Sheathing her weapon, she ran toward him.

 

"Laurana!" he breathed. Catching her in his arms, he held her close, nearly sobbing in his relief. Then Caramon flung his huge arms around both of them.

 

"How is everyone?" Tanis asked, when he could talk.

 

"So far, so good;" Caramon said, peering behind Tanis, His face fell when he saw he was alone. "Where's-"

 

"Sturm's lost;" Tanis said wearily. "Flint and Tas are across the street. The kender's pinned under a beam. Gilthanas is about two blocks away. He's hurt;" Tanis told Laurana, "not badly, but he couldn't make it any farther:"

 

"Welcome, Tanis," Raistlin whispered, coughing. "You have come in time to die with us:"

 

Tanis looked at the pitcher, saw the black pouch lying near it, and stared at Raistlin in sudden shock.

 

"No;' he said firmly. "We're not going to die. At least not like th-" he broke off abruptly. "Get everyone together:"

 

Caramon lumbered off, yelling at the top of his lungs. Riverwind ran in from the common room where he had been firing the enemy's arrows back at them, his own having non cut long ago. The others followed him, smiling hopefully at Tanis.

 

The sight of their faith in him infuriated the half-elf. Someday, he thought, I'm going to fail them. Maybe I already have. He shook his head angrily.

 

"Listen!" he shouted, trying to make himself heard over the noise of the draconians outside. "We can try and escape out the back! Only a small force is attacking the Inn. The main part of the army isn't in the city yet:"

 

"Somebody's after us," Raistlin murmured.

 

Tanis nodded. "So it would appear. We haven't much time. If we can make it into the hills-"

 

He suddenly fell silent, raising his head. They all fell silent, listening, recognizing the shrill scream, the creak of giant leather wings, coming nearer and nearer.

 

"Take cover!" River-wind yelled. But it was too late.

 

There was a screaming whine and a boom. The Inn, three stories tall and built of stone and wood, shook as if it were made of sand and sticks. The air exploded with dust and debris. Flames erupted outside. Above them, they could hear the sound of wood splitting and breaking, the thud of falling timber. The building began to collapse in on itself.

 

The companions watched in stunned fascination-paralyzed by the sight of the gigantic ceiling beams shuddering beneath the strain as the roof caved in onto the upper floors.

 

"Get out!" Tanis shouted. "The whole place is-"

 

The beam directly above the half-elf gave a great groan, then split and cracked. Gripping Laurana around the waist, Tanis flung her as far from him as he could and saw Elistan, standing near the front of the Inn, catch her in his arms.

 

As the huge beam above Tanis gave way with a shuddering snap, he heard the mope shriek strange words. Then he was falling, falling into blackness.-and it seemed that the world fell on top of him.

 

Sturm rounded a corner to see the Inn of the Red Dragon collapse in a cloud of flame and smoke as a dragon soared in the sky above it. The knight's heart beat wildly with grief and fear.

 

He ducked into a doorway, hiding in the shadows as same draconians passed him-laughing and talking in their cold, guttural language. Apparently they assumed this job was finished and were seeking other amusement. Three others,, he noticed-dressed in blue uniforms, not red-appeared extremely upset at the Inn's -destruction, shaking their fist at: the red Dragon -overhead.

Sturm felt the weakness of despair sweep over him. He "Tanis?"

 sagged against the door, watching the draconians dully, won- "Yes. He came through the back door, just before the dragon

 dering what to do next. Were they all still in there? Perhaps hit the Inn. They were all together, in the very center. I was

 they had escaped. Then his heart gave a painful bound. He saw  standing beneath a doorway. Tanis saw the beam breaking, He

a flash of white.  threw Laurana. I caught her, then the ceiling collapsed on top

 "Elistan!" he cried, watching the cleric emerge from the rub- of them. There's no way they could have-"

 ble, dragging someone with him. The draconians, swords "I don't believe it!" Flint said fiercely, leaping into the rubble.

 drawn, ran toward the cleric, calling out in Common for him to Sturm grasped hold of him, yanked him back.

 surrender. Sturm yelled the challenge of a Solamnic knight to "Where's Tas?" the knight asked the dwarf sternly.

 an enemy and ran out from his doorway. The draconians The dwarf's face fell. "Pinned under a beam;' he said, his face

 whirled about, considerably disconcerted to see the knight. ( gray with grief and sorrow. He clutched at his hair wildly,

 Sturm became dimly aware that another figure was running  knocking off his helm. "I've got to go back to him. But I can't

 with him. Glancing to his side, he saw the flash of firelight off a leave them-Caramon-" The dwarf began to cry, tears

 metal helm and heard the dwarf roaring. Then, from a door- streaming into his beard. "That big, dumb ox! I need him. He

 way, he heard words of magic.  can't do this to me! And Tanis, too!" The dwarf swore. "Damn

 Gilthanas, unable to stand without help, had crawled out it, I need them!"

 and was pointing at the draconians, reciting his spell. Flaming Sturm put his hand on Flint's shoulder. "Go back to Tas. He

 darts leaped from his hands. One of the creatures fell over, needs you now. There are draconians roaming the streets. We'll

 clutching its burning chest. Flint leaped on another, beating it be all-"

 oven the head with a rock, while Sturm felled the other dracon- ^, Laurana screamed, a terrifying, pitiful sound that pierced

 ion with a blow from his fists. Sturm caught Elistan in his arms r Sturm like a spear. Turning, he caught hold of her just as she

 as the man staggered forward. The cleric was carrying a started to rush into the debris.

 woman.  "Laurana!" he cried. "Look at that! Look at it!" He shook her

 "Laurana!" Gilthanas cried from the doorway.  in his own anguish. "Nothing could be alive in there!'

 Dazed and sick from the smoke, the elfmaid lifted her glazed ! "you don't know that!" she screamed at him in fury. tearing

 eyes. "Gilthanas?" she murmured. Then, looking up, she saw  away from his grasp. Falling onto her hands and knees, she

 the knight. tried to lift one of the blackened stones. "Tanis!" she cried. The

 "Sturm;' she said confusedly, pointing behind her vaguely. stone was so heavy, she could only move it a few inches.

 "Your sword, it's here. I saw it-" Sturm watched, heartsick, uncertain what to do. 'Then he

 Sure enough, Sturm saw a flash of silver, barely visible had his answer. Horns! Nearer and nearer. Hundreds, thousands of horns  beneath the rubble. His sword, and next to it was Tanis's. The armies were invading He looked at

sword, the elven blade of Kith-Kanan. Moving aside piles of  tan, who nodded in sorrowful understanding. Both men

stone, Sturm reverently lifted the swords that lay like artifacts  hurried over to Laurana.

within a hideous, gigantic cairn. The knight listened for move- "My dear;' Elistan began gently; "there is nothing you can do